UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
x ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2014
o TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from to
Commission File Number: 2-17039
NATIONAL WESTERN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
COLORADO | 84-0467208 |
(State of Incorporation) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
850 EAST ANDERSON LANE, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78752-1602
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)
(512) 836-1010
(Telephone Number)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12 (b) of the Act:
Title of each class to be so registered: | Name of each exchange on which each class is to be registered: | |
Class A Common Stock, $1.00 par value | The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC | |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12 (g) of the Act:
None
(Title of Class)
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes o No x
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. Yes o No x
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days: Yes x No o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes x No o
Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of Registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. x
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated filer and large accelerated file” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check One)
Large accelerated filer o Accelerated filer x Non-accelerated filer o Smaller reporting company o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes o No x
The aggregate market value of the common stock (based upon the closing price) held by non-affiliates of the Registrant on June 30, 2014 was $568,168,220.
As of March 9, 2015, the number of shares of Registrant's common stock outstanding was: Class A - 3,436,166 and Class B - 200,000.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Documents incorporated by reference: Portions of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement for the annual meeting of shareholders to be held June 19, 2015, which will be filed within 120 days after December 31, 2014 are incorporated by reference into Part III of this report.
TABLE OF CONTENTS | ||
PART I | Page | |
Business | ||
Risk Factors | ||
Unresolved Staff Comments | ||
Properties | ||
Legal Proceedings | ||
Mine Safety Disclosures | ||
PART II | ||
Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities | ||
Selected Consolidated Financial Data | ||
Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations | ||
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk | ||
Financial Statements and Supplementary Data | ||
Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure | ||
Controls and Procedures | ||
Other Information | ||
PART III | ||
The information required by Items 10 through 14 is incorporated by reference from our definitive proxy statement to be filed with the Commission pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days after December 31, 2014. | ||
PART IV | ||
Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules | ||
Signatures | ||
2
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information
This Form 10-K includes statements pertaining to anticipated financial performance, business endeavors, product development, and other similar matters. These statements, which may include words such as "may," "likely," "projected," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "intend," and other like expressions, constitute forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. A variety of factors could cause actual results and experiences to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties that may affect the operations, performance, and results of business include, but are not limited to, the following:
Ÿ | Difficult conditions globally and in the U.S. economy may materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations. | |
Ÿ | Our investment portfolio is subject to several risks which may lessen the value of our invested assets and the amounts credited to policyholders. | |
Ÿ | The determination of valuation and impairments of fixed income securities include estimations and assumptions that are subjective and prone to differing interpretations and could materially impact our results of operations or financial condition. | |
Ÿ | Changing interest rates and credit spreads, market volatility and general economic conditions affect the risks and the returns on both our investment portfolio and our products. | |
Ÿ | We are subject to incurring difficulties in marketing and distributing our products through our current and future distribution channels. | |
Ÿ | We are subject to a downgrade in our financial strength ratings which may negatively affect our ability to attract and retain independent distributors, make our products less attractive to consumers, and may have an adverse effect on our operations. | |
Ÿ | We are subject to competition from new sources as well as companies having substantially greater financial resources, higher ratings, and more expansive product offerings which could have an adverse impact upon our business levels and profitability. | |
Ÿ | We are subject to regulation, changes to existing laws, and investigations which may affect our profitability or means of operation. | |
Ÿ | Changes in accounting standards issued by standard-setting bodies may adversely affect our financial statements and affect the management of business operations. | |
Ÿ | We may be subject to unfavorable judicial developments, including the time and expense of litigation, which potentially could affect our financial position and results of operations. | |
Ÿ | We could be liable with respect to liabilities ceded to reinsurers if the reinsurers fail to meet the obligations assumed by them. | |
Ÿ | We are subject to policy claims experience which can fluctuate from period to period and vary from past results or expectations. | |
Ÿ | We are subject to assumption inaccuracies regarding future mortality, persistency, and interest rates used in determining deferred policy acquisition costs which may require us to accelerate our amortization. | |
Ÿ | Occurrence of natural or man-made disasters and catastrophes could adversely affect our ability to conduct business operations and the financial condition and results of operations. | |
Ÿ | We are dependent upon effective information technology systems and the development and implementation of new technologies. | |
Ÿ | The Company could be adversely affected by changes to tax law or interpretations of existing tax law which could reduce the demand for certain insurance products. | |
Ÿ | The Company may be required to establish a valuation allowance against its deferred tax assets which could materially affect the Company's results of operations and financial condition. | |
Ÿ | Competition for employees is intense and the Company may not be able to attract and retain highly skilled people needed to support its business. | |
See Part 1A, Risk Factors, for additional information.
3
PART I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
General
National Western Life Insurance Company (hereinafter referred to as "National Western", "Company", or "Registrant") is a stock life insurance company, chartered in the State of Colorado in 1956, and doing business in forty-nine states, the District of Columbia, and four U.S. territories or possessions. National Western is also licensed in Haiti, and although not otherwise licensed, accepts applications from and issues policies to residents of various countries in Central and South America, the Caribbean, the Pacific Rim, Eastern Europe and Asia. Such policies are underwritten, accepted, and issued in the United States based upon applications submitted by independent contractors. The Company provides life insurance products for the savings and protection needs of approximately 126,700 policyholders and for the asset accumulation and retirement needs of 139,100 annuity contract holders.
The Company's total assets increased to $11.4 billion at December 31, 2014, from $10.8 billion at December 31, 2013. The Company generated revenues of $708.8 million, $860.3 million and $664.7 million in 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively. In addition, National Western generated net income of $105.6 million, $96.2 million and $92.6 million in 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively.
The Company's financial information, including information in this report filed on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and any amendments to the above reports, are accessible free of charge through the Company's Internet site at www.nationalwesternlife.com or may be viewed at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. or at the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov.
Products
National Western offers a broad portfolio of individual whole life, universal life and term insurance plans, and annuities, including supplementary riders. In the following discussion, the Company reports sales and other statistical information. These statistics are derived from various sales tracking and administrative systems and are not derived from the Company's financial reporting systems or financial statements.These statistics are used to measure the relative progress of our marketing and acquisition efforts. Sales data for traditional life insurance is based upon annualized premiums, while universal life sales are based on annualized "target" premiums which are those premiums upon which full first year commissions are paid. Sales of annuities are measured based on the amount of deposits received. These statistics attempt to measure only some of the many factors that may affect future profitability, and therefore, are not intended to be predictive of future profitability.
Life Products. The Company's life products provide protection for the life of the insured and, in some cases, allow for cash value accumulation on a tax-deferred basis. These product offerings include universal life insurance ("UL"), interest-sensitive whole life, and traditional products such as term insurance coverage. Interest sensitive products such as UL accept premiums that are applied to an account value. Deducted from the account value are costs of insurance charges which vary by age, gender, plan, and class of insurance, as well as various expense charges. Interest is credited to account values at a fixed interest rate generally determined in advance and guaranteed for a policy year at a time, subject to minimum guaranteed rates specified in the policy contract. A slight variation to this general interest crediting practice involves equity-indexed universal life ("EIUL") policies whose credited interest may be linked in part to an outside index such as the S&P 500® Composite Stock Price Index ("S&P 500 Index®") at the election of the policyholder. These products offer both flexible and fixed premium modes and provide policyholders with flexibility in the available coverage, the timing and amount of premium payments and the amount of the death benefit, provided there are sufficient policy funds to cover all policy charges for the coming year. Traditional products generally provide for a fixed death benefit payable in exchange for regular premium payments.
4
Annuity Products. Annuity products sold include flexible premium and single premium deferred annuities, equity-indexed (fixed-indexed) annuities, and single premium immediate annuities. These products can be tax qualified or nonqualified annuities. A fixed single premium deferred annuity ("SPDA") provides for a single premium payment at the time of issue, an accumulation period, and an annuity payout period commencing at some future date. A flexible premium deferred annuity ("FPDA") provides the same features but allows, generally with some conditions, additional payments into the contract. Interest is credited to the account value of the annuity initially at a current rate of interest which is guaranteed for a period of time, typically the first year. After this period, the interest credited is subject to change based upon market rates and product profitability subject to a minimum guaranteed rate specified in the contract. Interest accrues during the accumulation period generally on a tax-deferred basis to the contract holder. After a number of years specified in the annuity contract, the owner may elect to have the proceeds paid as a single payment or as a series of payments over a period of time. The owner is permitted at any time during the accumulation period to withdraw all or part of the annuity account balance subject to contract provisions such as surrender charges and market value adjustments. A fixed-indexed deferred annuity performs essentially in the same manner as SPDAs and FPDAs with the exception that, in addition to a fixed interest crediting option, the contract holder has the ability to elect an interest crediting mechanism that is linked, in part, to an outside index such as the S&P 500 Index®. A single premium immediate annuity ("SPIA") foregoes the accumulation period and immediately commences an annuity payout period.
The following table sets forth information regarding the Company's sales activity by product type. Life insurance sales are measured by annualized first year premiums.
Years Ended December 31, | |||||||||
2014 | 2013 | 2012 | |||||||
(In thousands) | |||||||||
Annuities: | |||||||||
Fixed-index deferred | $ | 730,693 | 717,258 | 656,185 | |||||
Other deferred | 70,505 | 74,834 | 159,157 | ||||||
Single premium immediate | 15,313 | 13,380 | 39,321 | ||||||
Total annuities | $ | 816,511 | 805,472 | 854,663 | |||||
Life: | |||||||||
Fixed-index universal life insurance | $ | 34,239 | 35,643 | 26,991 | |||||
Other universal life insurance | 4,748 | 5,223 | 6,532 | ||||||
Traditional life and other | 3,597 | 3,312 | 3,496 | ||||||
Total life | $ | 42,584 | 44,178 | 37,019 | |||||
5
The table below sets forth information regarding the Company's life insurance in force for each date presented.
Insurance In Force as of | |||||||
December 31, | |||||||
2014 | 2013 | ||||||
($ in thousands) | |||||||
Universal life: | |||||||
Number of policies | 50,950 | 54,090 | |||||
Face amounts | $ | 6,819,120 | $ | 7,058,580 | |||
Traditional life: | |||||||
Number of policies | 37,310 | 39,060 | |||||
Face amounts | $ | 3,585,380 | $ | 3,419,810 | |||
Fixed-index life: | |||||||
Number of policies | 38,480 | 36,480 | |||||
Face amounts | $ | 9,693,530 | $ | 9,150,750 | |||
Rider face amounts | $ | 2,982,970 | $ | 2,743,660 | |||
Total life insurance: | |||||||
Number of policies | 126,740 | 129,630 | |||||
Face amounts | $ | 23,081,000 | $ | 22,372,800 | |||
The following table sets forth information regarding annuities in force for each date presented.
Annuities In Force as of | |||||||
December 31, | |||||||
2014 | 2013 | ||||||
($ in thousands) | |||||||
Fixed-index annuities | |||||||
Number of policies | 68,840 | 64,460 | |||||
GAAP annuity reserves | $ | 5,221,891 | $ | 4,782,159 | |||
Other deferred annuities | |||||||
Number of policies | 54,460 | 58,580 | |||||
GAAP annuity reserves | $ | 2,286,489 | $ | 2,479,855 | |||
Immediate annuities | |||||||
Number of policies | 15,830 | 17,060 | |||||
GAAP annuity reserves | $ | 369,065 | $ | 383,419 | |||
Total annuities | |||||||
Number of policies | 139,130 | 140,100 | |||||
GAAP annuity reserves | $ | 7,877,445 | $ | 7,645,433 | |||
6
Operating Segments
The Company manages its business between Domestic Insurance Operations and International Insurance Operations. For segment reporting purposes, the Company's annuity business, which is predominantly domestic, is separately identified. The Company also has a Corporate segment, which consists of the assets and activities of wholly-owned subsidiaries that have not been allocated to any other operating segment.
Domestic Insurance Operations. The Company is currently licensed to do business in all states and the District of Columbia, except for New York. Products marketed are annuities, universal life insurance, and traditional life insurance, which include both term and whole life products. The majority of domestic sales are the Company's annuities. National Western markets and distributes its domestic products primarily through independent national marketing organizations ("NMOs"). These NMOs assist the Company in recruiting, contracting, and managing independent agents. The Company's agents are independent contractors who are compensated on a commission basis. At December 31, 2014, the Company's NMO relationships had contracted approximately 19,200 independent agents with the Company. Over 14% of these contracted agents submitted policy applications to the Company in the past twelve months. At December 31, 2014, the Company had 55,700 domestic life insurance policies in force representing $3.1 billion in face amount of coverage and 139,100 annuity contracts representing account balances of $7.9 billion.
The following table sets forth the Company's domestic life insurance sales as measured in annualized first year premium for the last three years.
Years Ended December 31, | |||||||||
2014 | 2013 | 2012 | |||||||
(In thousands) | |||||||||
Fixed-index life | $ | 17,131 | 19,122 | 11,751 | |||||
Universal life | 177 | 211 | 200 | ||||||
Traditional life | 96 | 67 | 130 | ||||||
Total | $ | 17,404 | 19,400 | 12,081 | |||||
International Insurance Operations. National Western's international operations generally focus on foreign nationals in upper socioeconomic classes. Insurance products are issued primarily to residents of countries in Central and South America, the Caribbean, the Pacific Rim, Eastern Europe, and Asia. Issuing policies to residents of countries in these different regions provides diversification that helps to minimize large fluctuations that could arise due to various economic, political, and competitive pressures that may occur from one country to another. Products issued to international residents are almost entirely universal life and traditional life insurance products. However, certain annuity and investment contracts are also available. At December 31, 2014, the Company had approximately 71,000 international life insurance policies in force representing nearly $20.0 billion in face amount of coverage.
International applications are submitted by independent contractors, consultants and broker-agents, many of whom have been submitting policy applications to National Western for 20 or more years. The Company had relationships with approximately 2,300 of these independent international individuals at December 31, 2014, 42% of which submitted policy applications to the Company in the past twelve months.
7
The following table sets forth the Company's international life insurance sales as measured in annualized first year premium for the past three years.
Years Ended December 31, | |||||||||
2014 | 2013 | 2012 | |||||||
(In thousands) | |||||||||
Fixed-index life | $ | 17,108 | 16,521 | 15,240 | |||||
Universal life | 4,571 | 5,012 | 6,332 | ||||||
Traditional life | 3,501 | 3,245 | 3,366 | ||||||
Total | $ | 25,180 | 24,778 | 24,938 | |||||
There are some inherent risks of accepting international applications which are not present within the domestic market that are reduced substantially by the Company in several ways. As previously described, the Company accepts applications from foreign nationals in upper socioeconomic classes who have substantial financial resources. This targeted customer base coupled with National Western's conservative underwriting practices have historically resulted in claims experience, due to natural causes, similar to that in the United States. The Company minimizes exposure to foreign currency risks by requiring payment of premiums and claims in United States dollars. In addition, experience with the international products for over fifty years and the Company's longstanding business relationships further serve to minimize risks.
The Company's implementation of commission caps on domestic policies in 2009 discouraged sales of larger face amounts resulting in lower sales levels and amounts of insurance per policy as shown below. While the average new policy face amounts subsequently declined, the increased sales activity in the past several years has produced a modest upward trend in this figure. The Company's sales to international residents have witnessed a steady growth in the average face amount of insurance coverage per policy over the same time period. Empirical evidence suggests that policy persistency generally improves with larger face amounts of insurance.
Average New Policy Face Amount | |||||
Domestic | International | ||||
Year ended December 31, 2008 | 455,200 | 272,000 | |||
Year ended December 31, 2009 | 201,400 | 315,300 | |||
Year ended December 31, 2010 | 164,800 | 338,600 | |||
Year ended December 31, 2011 | 178,500 | 363,600 | |||
Year ended December 31, 2012 | 254,900 | 380,200 | |||
Year ended December 31, 2013 | 286,000 | 384,000 | |||
Year ended December 31, 2014 | 286,600 | 382,600 | |||
8
Geographical Distribution of Business. The following table depicts the distribution of the Company's premium revenues and deposits.
Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
2014 | 2013 | 2012 | ||||||||
(In thousands) | ||||||||||
United States domestic products: | ||||||||||
Annuities | $ | 828,982 | 811,339 | 860,880 | ||||||
Life insurance | 142,640 | 155,620 | 101,247 | |||||||
Total domestic products | 971,622 | 966,959 | 962,127 | |||||||
International products: | ||||||||||
Annuities | 4,290 | 2,530 | 3,827 | |||||||
Life insurance | 160,992 | 162,829 | 168,360 | |||||||
Total international products | 165,282 | 165,359 | 172,187 | |||||||
Total direct premiums and deposits collected | $ | 1,136,904 | $ | 1,132,318 | 1,134,314 | |||||
Although many agents sell National Western's products, the Company's annuity sales in any year typically reflect several NMOs whose contracted independent agents sold 10% or more of the Company’s total annuity sales. In 2014, there was one NMO that accounted for approximately 16% of the Company’s annuity sales. Similarly, domestic life insurance sales in any year may include several NMOs who accounted for 10% or more of total domestic life insurance sales. In 2014, there were two NMOs who generated 19% and 17%, respectively, of total domestic life insurance sales. Given the historically lower level of domestic life insurance sales relative to international life sales and annuity sales, the proportionate percentage of domestic life sales for these particular NMOs is not considered a significant concentration of business within the total context of new business. In addition, with the independent distribution model the Company employs, the concentration of sales within a particular NMO is not as an acute concern as compared to other distribution channels given that the underlying agents are free to contract with the Company through any NMO the Company has a relationship with.
Applications submitted from residents of Latin America and the Pacific Rim perennially have comprised the majority of the Company's international life insurance sales. Several years ago, new sales efforts were directed toward the sale of a traditional endowment form of life insurance product for residents of Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (former Soviet Union). However, the Company has scaled back its efforts in these areas due to profitability concerns. As noted previously, the Company's international sales by geographic market tend to fluctuate with the socio and economic climates in these regions. The Company's mix of international sales by geographic region is as follows.
Year Ended December 31, | |||||
2014 | 2013 | ||||
Percentage of International Sales: | |||||
Latin America | 84.4 | % | 90.5 | % | |
Pacific Rim | 12.5 | 6.9 | |||
Eastern Europe | 3.1 | 2.6 | |||
Totals | 100.0 | % | 100.0 | % | |
9
International life insurance sales are much more diversified by independent consultants and contractors. In terms of sales to residents of international countries, Brazil, Venezuela, Peru, and Taiwan were the countries exceeding 10% of total international sales with shares of 23%, 15%, 13%, and 10%, respectively.
Segment Financial Information. A summary of financial information for the Company's segments is as follows:
Domestic Life Insurance | International Life Insurance | Annuities | All Others | Totals | |||||||||||
(In thousands) | |||||||||||||||
Revenues, excluding realized gains (losses): | |||||||||||||||
2014 | $ | 63,551 | 170,749 | 420,707 | 42,168 | 697,175 | |||||||||
2013 | 63,414 | 181,471 | 563,353 | 43,376 | 851,614 | ||||||||||
2012 | 52,399 | 158,559 | 397,707 | 42,797 | 651,462 | ||||||||||
Segment earnings (losses): (A) | |||||||||||||||
2014 | $ | 2,812 | 37,092 | 42,935 | 15,204 | 98,043 | |||||||||
2013 | 2,094 | 35,718 | 37,725 | 15,085 | 90,622 | ||||||||||
2012 | 1,255 | 35,556 | 33,206 | 13,961 | 83,978 | ||||||||||
Segment assets: (B) | |||||||||||||||
2014 | $ | 746,051 | 1,250,629 | 8,933,274 | 257,568 | 11,187,522 | |||||||||
2013 | 610,570 | 1,200,347 | 8,586,871 | 260,007 | 10,657,795 | ||||||||||
2012 | 463,569 | 1,105,862 | 8,269,445 | 242,404 | 10,081,280 | ||||||||||
Notes to Table:
(A) Amounts exclude realized gains and losses on investments, net of taxes.
(B) Amounts exclude other unallocated assets.
Additional information concerning these industry segments is included in Note 13, Segment and Other Operating Information, of the accompanying consolidated financial statements.
Competition and Ratings
National Western operates in a mature and highly competitive industry. We compete with hundreds of life and health insurance company groups in the United States as well as other financial intermediaries such as banks and securities firms who market insurance products. Many of these companies are larger, have more substantial capital and technological resources, possess greater brand recognition, and maintain higher ratings. Competitors in international territories include Pan-American Life Insurance, American Fidelity Life Insurance, and Best Meridian Insurance while domestic market competitors include, among others, Allianz Life, American Equity Investment Life, Sammons Financial Group (Midland, NACOLAH), Security Benefit Life, Fidelity and Guaranty Life, Athene USA, Jackson National Life, Equitrust Life Insurance Company, Pacific Life, National Life Group (Life of the Southwest) and Forethought Financial Group. Competitive factors are primarily the breadth and quality of products offered, established positions in niche markets, pricing, relationships with distribution channels, commission structures, the perceived stability of the insurer, quality of underwriting and customer service, scale and cost efficiency. Operating results of life insurers are subject to fluctuations not only from this competitive environment but also due to economic conditions, interest rate levels and changes, performance of investments, and the maintenance of strong insurance ratings from independent rating agencies.
10
In order to compete successfully, life insurers focus initiatives toward distribution, technology, defined end market targets, speed to the market in terms of product development, and customer relationship management as ways of gaining a competitive edge. The Company's management believes that it competes primarily on the basis of its longstanding reputation for commitment in serving international markets, its financial strength and stability, and its ability to attract and retain distribution based upon product and compensation. With respect to sales to residents of international countries, the Company is of the opinion that the home office and website infrastructure to support languages other than English, and the knowledge needed to effectively underwrite risks outside of the United States is a significant barrier to entry for potential competitors.
Ratings with respect to financial strength are an important factor in establishing the competitive position of insurance companies. Financial strength ratings are generally defined as a rating agency’s opinion as to a company’s financial strength and ability to meet ongoing obligations to policyholders and contract holders. Accordingly, ratings are important to maintaining public confidence and impact the ability to market products. The following summarizes the Company's current financial strength ratings.
Rating Agency | Rating | Outlook | ||
A.M. Best | A (Excellent) | Stable | ||
Standard & Poor's | A (Strong) | Stable | ||
A.M. Best has 16 financial strength ratings assigned to insurance companies which currently range from A++ (Superior) to F (In Liquidation). Standard & Poor’s has twenty-one financial strength ratings assigned to insurance companies ranging from “AAA” (Extremely Strong) to “R” (Regulatory Action). Both rating agencies further qualify their current ratings with outlook designations of “Positive”, “Stable”, and “Negative”.
A.M. Best and Standard & Poor’s ratings are an independent consideration of the Company’s claims paying ability and are not a rating of the Company’s investment worthiness. Accordingly, such ratings are not recommendations to buy, sell or hold securities. The rating agencies formally review the Company and its rating on an annual basis with interim analysis performed as necessary. In June 2009, A.M. Best upgraded the Company’s rating to “A” from “A-”. This was particularly noteworthy given the financial crisis backdrop that framed this time period and the number of companies that were negatively impacted, often significantly, during this time. In June 2010, Standard & Poor’s upgraded its outlook of the Company from “negative” to “stable”. Generally speaking, as ratings are subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the rating agency, there is no assurance that the Company's ratings will continue for a certain period of time. In the event the Company's ratings are subsequently downgraded, the Company's business may be negatively impacted.
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Risk Management
Similar to other insurers, the Company is exposed to a wide spectrum of financial, operational, and other risks as described in Item 1A “Risk Factors”. Effective enterprise risk management is a key concern for identifying, monitoring, measuring, communicating, and managing risks within limits and risk tolerances. The Company’s Board of Directors and senior management are knowledgeable of and accountable for key risks. The full Board of Directors meets at least every other month and regularly hears reports from the President and Chief Operating Officer, the Chief Financial Officer, the Chief Actuary, the Chief Investment Officer, and the Chief Compliance Officer. In addition, the Board has several committees which include the Audit Committee, the Investment Committee, and the Compensation and Stock Option Committee that regularly convene to address various aspects of risk.
Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Governance Framework | ||||||||
Board of Directors and Sub-Committees of the Board | ||||||||
o | ||||||||
Company Senior Management | ||||||||
o | ||||||||
ERM Committees | ||||||||
o | o | o | o | o | ||||
Disclosure Committee | Asset/Liability Matching | Product Pricing/ Development | Compliance/Fraud Unit | Underwriting/ Claims | ||||
o | o | o | o | o | ||||
Corporate Risk Function | ||||||||
Insurance Risk | Market Risk | Credit Risk | Operational Risk | Strategy Risk | ||||
o | o | o | o | o | ||||
Lines of Business / Functional Areas | ||||||||
The Company maintains several management groups and committees that meet regularly to monitor, discuss and manage a variety of issues and risks associated with the business. These groups and committees include numerous areas such as regulatory compliance, financial reporting process and controls, fraud unit investigations, product spread management, and business strategy. Key members of senior management are involved with these groups and committees providing direction and oversight and serve as a reporting liaison with the Company’s Board of Directors and sub-committees. In addition, the Company's Internal Audit department reviews financial and operational risk exposures and reports directly to the Audit Committee of the Company concerning its independent reviews and assessments of management's efforts in these areas.
The Company maintains a system of disclosure controls and procedures, including internal controls designed to provide reasonable assurance that assets are safeguarded and transactions are properly authorized, executed and recorded. The Company recognizes the importance of full and open presentation of its financial position and operating results and to this end maintains a Disclosure Controls and Procedures Committee comprised of senior executives who possess comprehensive knowledge of the Company's business and operations. This Committee is responsible for evaluating disclosure controls and procedures and for the gathering, analyzing, and disclosing of information as required to be disclosed under the securities laws. It assists the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer in their responsibilities for making the certifications required under the securities laws regarding the Company's disclosure controls and procedures. It ensures that material financial information is properly communicated up the Company's hierarchy to the appropriate person or persons and that all disclosures are made in a timely fashion. This Committee reports directly to the Audit Committee of the Company.
The Company's product designs, underwriting standards and risk management techniques are utilized to protect against disintermediation risk and greater than expected mortality and morbidity risk. Disintermediation risk is limited through the use of surrender charges, certain provisions not allowing discretionary withdrawals, and market value adjustment features. Investment guidelines including duration targets, asset allocation tolerances and return objectives help to ensure that disintermediation risk is managed within the constraints of profitability criteria. Prudent underwriting is applied to select and price insurance risks and the Company regularly monitors mortality experience relative to its product pricing assumptions. Enforcement of disciplined claims management serves to further protect against greater than expected mortality.
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A significant aspect of the Company’s business is managing the linkage of its asset characteristics with the anticipated behavior of its policy obligations and liabilities, a process commonly referred to as asset-liability matching. The Company maintains an Asset-Liability Committee (“ALCO”) consisting of senior level members of the Company who assist and advise the Company’s Board of Directors in monitoring the level of risk the Company is exposed to in managing its assets and liabilities in order to attain the risk-return profile desired. Certain members of the ALCO meet as frequently as necessary, to review and recommend for Board of Director ratification, current period interest crediting rates to policyholders based upon existing and anticipated investment opportunities. These rates apply to new sales and to products after an initial guaranteed period, if applicable. Rates are established after the initial guaranteed period based upon asset portfolio yields and each product’s required interest spread, taking into consideration current competitive market conditions.
Underwriters generally follow detailed policies and procedures to assess and quantify the risk of the Company's individual life products based on the age, gender, health, occupation and financial resources of the applicant and the amount of insurance applied for. As the Company maintains reinsurance treaties with several third party reinsurers, the majority of the Company's risk assessment policies have been established in conjunction with reinsurer policies and practices. The Company bases premiums and policy charges for individual life insurance on expected death benefits, surrender benefits, expenses and required reserves. Assumptions regarding mortality, interest rates, policy persistency, expenses, premium payment patterns and investment performance are embedded in the pricing of policies. Deviations of actual experience from pricing assumptions may positively or negatively impact the profitability of the Company's products.
Substantially all products available to residents of other countries contain a currency clause stating that premium and claim "dollars" refer to lawful currency of the United States. Policy applications submitted through international insurance consultants are generally associated with individuals in upper socioeconomic classes who desire the stability and inflationary hedge of dollar denominated insurance products issued by the Company. The favorable demographics of this group typically results in a higher average policy size, and persistency and claims experience (from natural causes) similar to that in the United States. By accepting applications submitted on residents outside the United States, the Company is able to further diversify its revenue, earnings and insurance risk.
Insurance Product Liabilities
At December 31, 2014, the Company's total balance for liabilities pertaining to insurance products was $9.7 billion. These product liabilities are payable over an extended period of time for which the Company's product pricing includes in making certain assumptions for. The profitability of insurance products depends on this pricing and differences between the Company's expectations when the products are sold and the subsequent actual experience impacts future profitability.
Liabilities for insurance products are determined using standard actuarial tables and past experience. Accordingly, establishing reserves can be an uncertain process in some cases. The Company's financial results depend significantly upon the extent to which actual experience is consistent with the assumptions used in determining reserves and pricing the Company's products. If assumptions are incorrect with respect to future claims, future policyholder premiums and policy charges or the investment income derived from the assets supporting product liabilities, the Company would be required to increase its liabilities which would negatively affect operating results.
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Reinsurance
The Company follows the industry practice of reinsuring (ceding) portions of its insurance risks with a variety of reinsurance companies. All reinsurance is yearly renewable term. We do not use financial or surplus relief reinsurance. The use of reinsurance allows the Company to underwrite policies larger than the risk it is willing to retain on any single life and to continue writing a larger volume of new business. New sales of life insurance products are reinsured above prescribed limits and do not require the reinsurer’s prior approval within certain guidelines. The maximum amount of life insurance the Company normally retains is $500,000 on any one life. However, the use of reinsurance does not relieve the Company of its primary liability to pay the full amount of the insurance benefit in the event of the failure of a reinsurer to honor its contractual obligation. Consequently, the Company avoids concentrating reinsurance risk with any one reinsurer and only participates in reinsurance treaties with reputable carriers. No reinsurer of business ceded by the Company has failed to pay policy claims (individually or in the aggregate) with respect to our ceded business. The Company continuously monitors the financial strength of our reinsurers and has been able to obtain replacement coverages from financially responsible reinsurers when making changes. The Company’s primary reinsurers as of December 31, 2014 were as follows.
Reinsurer | A.M. Best Rating | Amount of In Force Ceded (In thousands) | ||||
Hannover Life Reassurance Company (Florida) | A+ | $ | 1,991,556 | |||
SCOR Global Life Americas Reinsurance (Delaware) | A | 1,495,403 | ||||
RGA Reinsurance Company (Missouri) | A+ | 935,318 | ||||
Mapfre Re (Spain) | A | 721,873 | ||||
SCOR Global Life S.E. Branch (France) | A | 134,622 | ||||
All others | 48,220 | |||||
$ | 5,326,992 | |||||
Regulatory and Other Issues
Regulation. The Company's insurance business is subject to comprehensive state regulation in each of the states it is licensed to conduct business. The laws enforced by the various state insurance departments provide broad administrative powers with respect to licensing to transact business, licensing and appointing agents, approving policy forms, regulating unfair trade and claims practices, establishing solvency standards, fixing minimum interest rates for the accumulation of surrender values, and regulating the type, amounts, and valuations of permitted investments, among other things. The Company is required to file detailed annual statements with each of the state insurance supervisory departments in which it does business. Annually, the Company’s board-appointed qualified actuary must submit an opinion to state insurance regulators where the Company is licensed to do business on whether the statutory assets held backing the statutory reserves are sufficient to meet contractual obligations and related expenses of the insurer. If an opinion cannot be rendered noting the sufficiency of assets, the Company is required to establish additional statutory reserves which draw from available statutory surplus until the time such an opinion can be furnished.
The Company's operations and financial records are subject to examination by these departments at regular intervals. Statutory financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting practices prescribed or permitted by the Colorado Division of Insurance, the Company's principal insurance regulator. Prescribed statutory accounting practices are largely dictated by the Statutory Accounting Principles adopted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners ("NAIC"). The NAIC, as well as state regulators, continually evaluates existing laws and regulations pertaining to the operations of life insurers. To the extent that initiatives result as a part of this process, they may be adopted in the various states in which the Company is licensed to do business. It is not possible to predict the ultimate content and timing of new statutes and regulations adopted by state insurance departments and the related impact upon the Company's operations although it is conceivable that they may be more restrictive.
Each state has insurance guaranty association laws under which insurers doing business in a state can be assessed contributions, up to prescribed limits, in order to cover contractual benefit obligations of insolvent insurance companies. The state guaranty associations levy assessments on each insurer on the basis of their proportionate share of the premiums written in the lines of business in which the insolvent insurer had been engaged. Some states permit the member insurers to recover the assessments paid through full or partial premium tax offsets.
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State insurance laws and regulations contain numerous provisions pertaining to the marketplace activities of insurers, including various provisions governing the form and content of disclosures made to consumers, policy illustrations, advertising material, sales practices and handling of policyholder complaints. State regulatory authorities enforce these prerequisites through periodic market conduct examinations.
The Company’s business is also affected by U.S. federal, state and local tax laws. Although the federal government does not directly regulate the life insurance industry, federal measures previously considered or enacted by Congress, if revisited, could affect the insurance industry and the Company's business. These measures include the tax treatment of life insurance companies and life insurance products, as well as changes in individual income tax structures and rates. Even though the ultimate impact of any of these changes, if implemented, is uncertain, the persistency of the Company's existing products and the ability to sell products could be materially affected.
Given the ongoing legislative developments concerning insurance industry regulation, the NAIC and state regulators continue to revisit existing laws and statutes focusing on matters involving insurance company investments and solvency, market conduct, risk-adjusted capital measurements, enterprise risk management guidelines, interpretations of current laws, and creation of new laws. The Company does not believe the adoption of any of the current NAIC initiatives will have a material adverse impact on its operations; however, the Company cannot predict the form of any future proposals or regulation.
Despite having been in place for several years, many of the key rules of the Dodd-Frank legislation have yet to be formalized, some of which may have an impact on insurers. To date, the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) has been established to accumulate information about the insurance industry. Its current mandate is very broad and covers a wide variety of topics although it is not empowered with any general regulatory authority over insurers.
The USA Patriot Act of 2001 ("Patriot Act") amended the Money Laundering Control Act of 1986 and the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 to expand anti-money laundering ("AML") and financial transparency laws applicable to financial services companies, including insurance companies. Among other things, the Patriot Act seeks to identify parties involved in terrorism, money laundering or other illegal activities. The Company has adopted AML programs that include policies, procedures and controls to detect and prevent money laundering.
On August 10, 2012, the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 ("Iran Act") was signed into law. Section 219 of the Iran Act amended Section 13 of the Exchange Act to require an issuer filing periodic Exchange Act reports to provide disclosure whether during the reporting period it or any of its affiliates knowingly engaged in certain specified activities involving contacts with or support for Iran and other identified persons involved in terrorism or the creation of weapons of mass destruction. Such activities include, among other things, certain banking transactions supporting Iran's weapons of mass destruction activities and terrorism. The Company and its subsidiaries had no transactions or activities requiring disclosure under the Iran Act in this report filed on Form 10-K.
Risk-Based Capital Requirements. In order to enhance the regulation of insurer solvency, the NAIC established risk-based capital ("RBC") requirements to help state regulators monitor the financial strength and stability of life insurers by identifying those companies that may be inadequately capitalized. Under the NAIC's requirements, each insurer must maintain its total capital above a calculated threshold or take corrective measures to achieve the threshold. The threshold of adequate capital is based on a formula that takes into account the amount of risk each company faces on its products and investments. The RBC formula takes into consideration four major areas of risk which are: (i) asset risk which primarily focuses on the quality of investments; (ii) insurance risk which encompasses mortality and morbidity risk; (iii) interest rate risk which involves asset-liability matching issues; and (iv) other business risks. For each category, the RBC requirements are determined by applying specified factors to various assets, premiums, reserves, and other items, with the factor being higher for items with greater underlying risk and lower for items with less risk. The standards require life insurers to submit a report to state regulators on an annual basis regarding their risk-based capital.
The RBC requirements provide for four levels of regulatory attention, varying with the ratio of the insurer's ratio of total adjusted capital to its RBC as measured on December 31 of each year. In addition, the RBC requirements provide for a trend test if an insurer's total adjusted capital falls to a certain range of its ratio relative to its RBC as of the end of the year. The Company's statutory capital and surplus at December 31, 2014, was significantly in excess of the threshold RBC requirements for regulatory attention and trend test analysis.
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Effects of Inflation. The rate of inflation as measured by the change in the average consumer price index has not had a material effect on the revenues or operating results of the Company during the three most recent fiscal years.
Employees. The Company had 264 employees as of December 31, 2014, substantially all of which worked in the Company’s home office in Austin, Texas. None of the employees are subject to collective bargaining agreements governing their employment with the Company.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Company performance is subject to varying risk factors including general business and financial risk. Any or all of these risks could have a material adverse effect on the business, financial condition or results of the Company or cause the trading price of the Company's Class A common shares to decline materially. This section provides an overview of possible risk exposures at this point in time that could impact Company performance in the future. While these scenarios do not represent expectations of future experience, they are intended to illustrate the potential impacts if any of the following risks were to manifest into actual occurrences.
Difficult conditions globally and in the U.S. economy may materially adversely affect our business and results of operations.
The Company’s results from operations are materially affected by economic conditions both in the U.S. and elsewhere around the world. From 2008 to 2010, the U.S. economy experienced severe credit and liquidity issues and experienced a recession. Although the recession has ended, the rate of recovery from the U.S. recession has been slower than historic averages as unemployment remains relatively high and business and consumer confidence has not reached the degree of stability comparable to pre-recession levels. Recent economic data seemingly points to an ongoing pattern of growth, but the future direction could be impacted by implementation of U.S. fiscal policies addressing significant national budget deficits and debt levels or by unforeseen reversals in macroeconomic trends. Globally, the disruption in foreign financial markets has lessened, but not all financial markets are functioning normally. Ongoing efforts by foreign financial authorities to address their plight through currency manipulation or similar versions of quantitative easing initiatives may serve to exacerbate the financial and economic headwinds. Other foreign governments have initiated austerity initiatives to combat their budget deficits which may have the unintended consequence of causing a decline in economic activity.
Even under more favorable economic conditions, general factors such as credit availability, willingness of business to invest, consumer spending, financial market conditions and inflation affect the Company's business. Demand for our products and ultimately the profitability of our business may be adversely affected by anemic activity in any or all of these areas. Our current policyholders may opt to defer or stop paying insurance premiums. Those holding interest-sensitive life insurance and annuity products of the Company may begin an elevated level of discretionary withdrawals of policy funds. Adverse changes as detailed above could negatively affect our net income and have a material effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. The Company cannot foretell the occurrence of economic trends or the timing of changes in such trends.
Our investment portfolio is subject to several risks which may lessen the value of invested assets and the amounts credited to policyholders.
The Company primarily invests monies received in investment grade, fixed income investment securities in order to meet its obligations to policyholders and provide a return on its deployed capital. Accordingly, our business is exposed to customary risks of debt markets including credit defaults and changes in fair value. Adverse market conditions can affect the liquidity and value of our investments and we are subject to the credit risk that issuers of these securities may default on principal and interest payments, particularly in the event of an ongoing downturn in the economic and/or business climate. At December 31, 2014, approximately 1.5% of the Company’s $9.6 billion fixed income securities portfolio was comprised of issuers who were investment grade at the time the Company acquired them but were subsequently downgraded for various reasons. A substantial increase in defaults from these or other issuers could negatively impact the Company’s financial position and results of operations.
For the Company’s fixed-indexed products, over the counter derivative instruments (index options) are purchased from a number of highly-rated counterparties to fund the index credit to policyholders. These index options consist primarily of one-year call options. In the event that any of these counterparties fails to meet their contractual obligations under these derivative instruments, the Company would be financially at risk for providing the credits due that the counterparty reneged on. The Company attempts to offset this risk through careful credit evaluation of counterparties, diversification of holdings among numerous institutions, and use of credit support agreements requiring counterparties to provide collateral at specified threshold levels. The failure of counterparties to perform could negatively impact the Company’s financial strength and reduce the Company’s profitability.
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The concentration of the Company's portfolio in any particular issuer, asset classes, industries, or geographic areas could have an adverse effect on our investment portfolios and, therefore, the Company's results of operations and financial position. In order to minimize this risk, the Company's investment guidelines contain maximum exposure thresholds to concentrations of risk in order to promote a broadly diversified portfolio.
Significant financial and credit market volatility, changes in interest rates and credit spread margins, credit defaults, market illiquidity, declines in equity prices, ratings downgrades of the issuers of debt securities, and declines in general economic conditions, either singularly or in combination, could have a material adverse impact on the Company's results of operations and financial condition through realized losses, impairments, and changes in unrealized loss positions.
The determination of valuation and impairments of fixed income securities include estimations and assumptions that are subjective and prone to differing interpretations and could materially impact our results of operations or financial condition.
The Company makes assumptions regarding the fair value and expected performance of its investments. During periods of market disruption and volatility, it becomes more difficult to evaluate securities particularly if trading becomes less frequent or market data becomes less observable. As a result, valuations may include inputs and assumptions that are less observable or require greater estimation and judgment as well as valuation methods which are more complex. We also consider a wide range of factors about security issuers in evaluating the cause of a decline in the estimated fair value of a security and in assessing the prospects for recovery. Inherent in this evaluation are assumptions about the operations of the issuer and its future earnings potential. Such evaluations are revised as conditions change and new information becomes available. The decision on whether to record an other-than-temporary impairment is determined by our assessment of the financial condition and prospects of a particular issuer, projections of future cash flows and recoverability as well as our ability and intent to hold the securities to recovery or maturity. Expectations that the Company's investments in corporate debt securities will continue to perform in accordance with their contractual terms are based on evidence gathered through our normal credit surveillance process. However, historical trends may not be indicative of future impairments and our conclusions concerning the recoverability of any particular security’s market price could ultimately prove to be invalid as facts and circumstances change. Rapidly changing and unprecedented credit market conditions make it possible that issuers of the Company's investments in corporate securities and/or debt obligations will perform worse than current expectations. Consequently, there can be no assurance that we have accurately assessed the level of impairments in our financial statements or that additional impairments may not need to be taken in the future. It is also possible that unanticipated events may lead the Company to dispose of such investments and recognize the effects of any market movements in its financial statements.
We are subject to changing interest rates and credit spreads, market volatility, and general economic conditions which may affect the risk and returns on both our investment portfolio and our products.
We are exposed to significant capital market risk related to changes in interest rates. Our investment performance, including yields and realization of gains and losses, may vary depending on economic and market conditions. Substantial and sustained changes, up or down, in market interest rate levels can materially affect the profitability of our products, the market value of our investments, and ultimately the reported amount of stockholders’ equity.
A rise in interest rates will increase the net unrealized loss position of our investment portfolio and may subject the Company to disintermediation risk. Disintermediation risk is the risk that in a change from a period of low interest rates to a period of significantly higher and increasing interest rates policyholders may surrender their contracts or make early withdrawals in order to increase their returns, requiring the Company to liquidate investments in an unrealized loss position (i.e. the market value less than the carrying value of the investments). The Company manages its liabilities and configures its investment portfolio so as to provide and maintain sufficient liquidity to support expected withdrawal demands. If the Company experiences unexpected withdrawal or surrender activity, it could exhaust liquid assets and be forced to liquidate other assets at a loss or on other unfavorable terms. With respect to fixed income security investments the Company maintains in an “Available for Sale” category, rising interest rates will cause declines in the market value of these securities. These declines are reported in our financial statements as an unrealized investment loss and a reduction of stockholders’ equity.
There may be occasions where the Company could encounter difficulty selling some of its investments due to a lack of liquidity in the marketplace. If the Company required significant amounts of cash during such a period, it may have difficulty selling investments at attractive prices, in a timely manner or both.
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Significant changes in interest rates expose insurance companies to the risk of not realizing the anticipated spread between the interest rates earned on investments and the credited rates paid on in force policies and contracts. A decline in interest rates could expose the Company to reduced profitability due to minimum interest rate guarantees that are required in our products by regulation. As a key component of profitability, a narrowing of investment spreads (“spread compression”) could negatively affect operating results. Although the Company has the ability to adjust the rates credited on products in order to maintain our required investment spread, a significant decline in interest rate levels could affect investment yields to the point where the investment spread is compromised due to minimum interest rate guarantees. In addition, the potential for increased policy surrenders and cash withdrawals, competitor activities, and other factors could further limit the Company’s ability to maintain crediting rates on its products at levels necessary to avoid sacrificing investment spread.
Changes in interest rates may also impact the Company's business in other ways. The Company's expectation for future interest earnings and spreads is an important component in determining the amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs ("DPAC"). Significantly lower interest earnings or spreads may cause the Company to accelerate its amortization of DPAC thereby reducing net income in a reporting period. Additionally, during periods of declining interest rates, life insurance and annuity products may be relatively more attractive savings alternatives to consumers resulting in increased premium payments on products with flexible premium features, repayment of policy loans, or otherwise a higher persistency of policies remaining in force from year-to-year during a period when the Company's investments carry lower returns.
The profitability of the Company’s fixed-indexed products linked in part to market indices is significantly affected by the cost of underlying call options purchased to fund the credits owed to contract holders selecting this form of interest crediting. If there are little or no gains on the call options purchased over the expected life of these fixed-indexed products, the Company would incur expenses for credited interest over and above the option costs. In addition, if the Company does not successfully match the terms of the underlying call options purchased with the terms of the fixed-indexed products, the index credits could exceed call option proceeds. This would serve to reduce the Company’s spread on the products and decrease profits.
We are subject to incurring difficulties in marketing and distributing our products through our current and future distribution channels.
The Company distributes its life and annuity products through independent broker-agents and consultants. These product distributors are not captive and may sell products of competitors of the Company. There is substantial competition, particularly in the Company’s domestic market, for independent broker-agents with the demonstrated ability to market and sell insurance products. Competition for these individuals or organizations typically centers on company reputation, products and their features, compensation, home office support services and the insurer’s financial position and independent strength ratings. Competitiveness for such individuals and organizations also depends upon the relationships the Company develops with them. The Company’s future sales and financial condition are dependent upon avoiding significant interruptions in attracting and retaining independent broker-agents and consultants.
As technology continues to evolve, comparison of a particular product of any company for a particular customer with competing products for that customer will become more readily available, which could also lead to increased competition as well as affecting agent, consultant and customer behavior.
We are subject to a downgrade in our financial strength ratings which may negatively affect our ability to attract and retain independent distributors, make our products less attractive to consumers, and may have an adverse effect on our operations.
Financial strength ratings are important criteria in establishing the competitive position of insurers. While financial strength ratings are not a recommendation to buy the Company's products, these ratings are important to maintaining public confidence in the Company, its products, and its competitive position. Ratings generally reflect the rating agencies’ quantitative and qualitative view of a particular company’s financial strength, operating performance, and ability to meet its obligations to policyholders. However, since some of the rating factors often relate to the particular and subjective views of the rating agency, their independent economic modeling, the general economic climate, and other circumstances, these are largely outside of the insurer’s control. Accordingly, we cannot predict with any certainty what actions rating agencies may take. A downgrade in our financial strength rating, or an announced potential downgrade, could affect our competitive position and make it more difficult to market our products vis-à-vis competitors with higher financial strength ratings. In extreme situations, a significant downgrade action by one or more rating agencies could cause a decrease in the sale of our products, prompt defections within our independent sales force, and induce existing policyholders to cancel their policies and withdraw funds from the Company. Currently, the major rating agencies, including A.M. Best and Standard & Poor’s, maintain stable outlooks on the U.S. life insurance industry. Regardless of their current view, these rating agencies could revise their benchmarks regarding levels of capital, earnings, and other metrics that align with particular rating levels and impact their rating assessments of U.S. life insurance companies. These events could have a material adverse effect on our financial position and liquidity.
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We are subject to competition from new sources as well as companies having substantially greater financial resources, higher ratings, and more expansive product offerings which could have an adverse impact upon our business levels and profitability.
Life insurance is a mature and highly competitive industry. Our ability to compete is based upon a variety of factors including financial strength ratings, competitive products, service, scale, and distribution capacity. In recent years, there has been considerable consolidation among companies in the insurance and financial sectors resulting in large, well-capitalized entities that offer products comparable to the Company. Frequently, these larger organizations are not domiciled in the United States or are financial services entities attempting to establish a position in the insurance industry. These larger competitors often enjoy better name recognition and economies of scale which produce lower operating costs and the wherewithal to absorb greater risk allowing them to price products more competitively and, in turn, attract independent distributors. Such competition could result in lower sales or higher lapses of existing products. In addition, since the actual cost of products is not precisely known when they are sold, the Company is exposed to competitors who may sell products at prices that do not cover actual costs. Consequently, the Company may encounter additional pricing pressures to lower prices for similar products and be challenged to maintain market share, profit margin targets and profitability criteria. Due to these competitive forces, the Company may not be able to effectively compete without negative affects on our financial position and results of operations.
We are subject to regulation, changes to existing laws, and investigations that may affect our profitability or means of operations.
The Company is subject to extensive laws and regulations which are complex and subject to change. In addition, these laws and regulations are enforced by a number of different authorities including, but not limited to, state insurance regulators, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), state attorney generals, and the U.S. Department of Justice. Compliance with these laws and regulations is time consuming and any changes may materially increase our compliance costs and other expenses of doing business. The regulatory framework at the state and, increasingly, federal level pertaining to insurance products and practices is advancing and could affect not only the design of our products but our ability to continue to sell certain products.
The Company is subject to government regulation in each of the states in which it conducts business with such regulation vested in state agencies having broad administrative power dealing with many aspects of the Company's business. Regulators oversee matters relating to sales practices, policy forms, claims practices, types and amounts of investments, reserve adequacy, insurer solvency, minimum amounts of capital and surplus, transactions with related parties, and payments of dividends. At any given time, the Company may be subject to a number of financial, market conduct, or other examinations or audits. These examinations or audits may result in payment of fines and penalties as well as changes in systems or procedures, any of the which could have a material adverse effect on the Company's financial condition or results of operations.
Life insurer products generally offer tax advantages to policyholders via the deferral of income tax on policy earnings during the accumulation phase of the product, be it an annuity or a life insurance product, as compared to other savings instruments such as certificates of deposit and taxable bonds. Taxes are payable on income attributable to a distribution under a policy/contract for the year in which the distribution is made as opposed to the current taxation of other savings instruments. In addition, death benefit proceeds maintain a tax-free status. Periodically, Congress has considered legislation that would reduce or eliminate this tax advantage inherent to the life insurance industry and subject the industry’s products to treatment more equivalent with other investments. In the event that the tax status of life insurance products is revised or reduced by Congress all life insurers would be adversely impacted.
Insurance companies that do business in a particular state are subject to assessment up to certain prescribed limits by that state’s insurance guaranty association to provide funds to help pay for policyholder losses or liabilities of insolvent insurance companies. The financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 weakened the financial condition of numerous insurers, including insurers already in the state of receivership, thus increasing the risk of sparking guaranty fund assessments. As the amount and timing of assessments by state insurance guaranty associations is outside of the Company’s control, the liabilities provided for these potential assessments in our financial statements may differ from the amounts ultimately assessed.
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On July 21, 2010, the Dodd-Frank Act (“Dodd-Frank”) was enacted into law. Dodd-Frank calls for expansive changes in the regulation and oversight of the financial industry intended to provide for greater supervision of financial industry entities, reduction of risk in banking practices and in securities and derivatives trading, enhancement of public company corporate governance practices and executive compensation disclosures, and greater protections to individual consumers and investors. Numerous provisions of Dodd-Frank require adoption of implementing rules and/or regulations. The process of adopting these have been delayed beyond the timeframes imposed by Dodd-Frank. Dodd-Frank established a Federal Insurance Office with the Department of Treasury. The director of this office is required to conduct a study on how to modernize and improve the system of insurance regulation in the United States, accomplished by increased national uniformity through either a federal charter or effective action by the states. Until various final regulations are defined, the full impact of the regulations on the Company will remain unclear. Legislative or regulatory requirements imposed may impact the Company in a variety of ways including placing the Company at a competitive disadvantage relative to its competition or other financial service entities, changing the competitive framework of the financial services sector and/or life insurance industry, making it more expensive for the Company to conduct its business, or requiring the reallocation of Company resources to legal and compliance-related activities. Consequently, the impact of Dodd-Frank on the Company, as well as that on the financial industry and economy cannot be determined until all the rules and regulations called for under the Act have been finalized and implemented.
The Company's operations are centralized at its Austin, Texas location and it is licensed to do business in forty-nine states (except New York) and various other U.S. territories and possessions and is regulated by the insurance departments in each of these locations. Although not otherwise licensed, the Company also accepts applications from and issues dollar-denominated policies to residents outside of the United States. From time to time insurance regulators in these non-U.S. locations have sought to exercise regulatory authority over the Company including the imposition of substantial penal fines. Although these non-U.S. regulators have no jurisdiction over the Company and any actions, including fines, would be unenforceable against the Company, the threat of regulatory action could impede the submission of future applications from residents in these locations. The Company's future sales and financial condition are dependent upon avoiding significant interruptions in receiving applications from residents outside of the United States.
In addition, the Company has recently become aware that the Brazilian authorities have commenced an investigation into possible violations of Brazilian criminal law in connection with the issuance of the Company's insurance policies to Brazilian residents, and in assistance of such investigation a Commissioner appointed by the U.S District Court for the Western District of Texas has issued a subpoena upon the Company to provide information relating to such possible violations. Because the Company has only recently become aware of this investigation, no conclusion can be drawn at this time as to its outcome or how such outcome may impact the Company's business, results of operations or financial condition. For the year ended December 31, 2014, the Company generated approximately $38.6 million of life insurance premiums and contract revenues from policies issued to Brazilian residents, which represented approximately 20% of total life insurance premiums and contract revenues. In the event that the ultimate outcome of the investigation were to adversely affect the Company's life insurance premiums and contracts revenues from policies issued to Brazilian residents, the loss of such revenues and premiums could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, results of operations and financial condition.
Changes in accounting standards issued by standard-setting bodies may adversely affect our financial statements and affect the management of business operations.
The Company’s financial statements are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) as delineated in the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") Accounting Standards Codification (“FASB ASC”). GAAP is subject to constant review by various policy-setting organizations to address emerging accounting rules and issue interpretative accounting guidance. From time to time, the Company is required to adopt new or revised accounting standards or guidance that has been integrated into the FASB ASC. Future accounting standards required to be adopted could possibly change the current accounting treatment that the Company uses in its consolidated financial statements and such changes could possibly have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations.
In addition, the FASB is in the process of working on several projects with the International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”) which could produce significant changes as GAAP converges with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”). These projects include how the Company accounts for its insurance contracts and financial instruments and how its financial statements are prepared and presented. The SEC has proposed at various points in time that filers in the U.S. be required to report financial results in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB rather than GAAP. Despite the the uncertainty of the ongoing deliberations involving convergence of GAAP and IFRS, adoption of IFRS would be a complete change to the Company's accounting and reporting. The changes to GAAP and the ultimate conversion to IFRS would invoke new demands on public companies in the areas of governance, internal controls, employee training, and disclosure and will likely affect how business operations are managed. The Company is unable to predict whether, and if so, when this proposal will be adopted and/or implemented.
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The Company is also required to comply with statutory accounting principles ("SAP") which are subject to constant review by the NAIC and related task forces and committees. Various proposals either are currently or have been previously pending before the NAIC. The Company cannot predict whether or in what form reforms will be enacted by state legislatures and whether the enacted reforms will positively or negatively affect the Company.
We may be subject to unfavorable judicial developments, including the time and expense of litigation, which potentially could affect our financial position and results of operations.
Financial services companies are frequently targets of legal proceedings, including class action litigation. In the ordinary course of business, we are involved in various legal actions common to the life insurance industry, some of which may occasionally assert claims for large amounts. Companies in the life insurance and annuity lines of business have encountered litigation pertaining to allegations of improper sales practices in connection with the sale of life insurance, improper product design and disclosures, marketing unsuitable products to customers especially in the senior market, bad faith in the handling of insurance claims, and other similar pleas. In addition, life insurance companies are subject to risk of errors and misconduct of the agents selling their products for fraud, non-compliance with policies and recommending products or transactions that are not suitable in a particular situation. Often these legal proceedings have resulted in the award of substantial amounts disproportionate to the actual damages including material amounts of punitive compensatory damages. In some states, judges and juries have substantial discretion in awarding punitive and compensatory damages which creates the potential for material adverse judgments or awards. In the event of an unfavorable outcome in one or more matters, the ultimate liability may be in excess of the liabilities established in the Company's accounts. Given the inherent unpredictability of litigation, there can be no assurance that such litigation, current or in the future, will not have such a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations or cash flows in any particular reporting period. In addition, the Company could also suffer significant harm to its reputation as a result of such litigation and the occurrence of such matters may become more frequent and/or severe in the event that general economic conditions deteriorate.
We could be liable with respect to liabilities ceded to reinsurers if the reinsurers fail to meet the obligations assumed by them.
The Company cedes material amounts of insurance to other unaffiliated insurance companies through reinsurance. New sales of life products are reinsured within prescribed limits and do not require the reinsurer's prior approval within certain guidelines. The Company's maximum retention limit on an insured life is $500,000. However, these reinsurance arrangements do not fully discharge the Company’s obligation to pay benefits on the reinsured business. If a reinsurer fails to meet its obligations, the Company would be forced to cover these claims. In addition, if a reinsurer becomes insolvent, it may cause the Company to lose its reserve credits on the ceded business which require the establishment of additional reserves. To mitigate the risks associated with the use of reinsurance, the Company carefully monitors the ratings and financial condition of its reinsurers on a regular basis and attempts to avoid concentration of credit risks by spreading its business among several reinsurers in order to diversify its risk exposure.
The Company's ability to be competitive is affected by the availability of reinsurance. The availability and cost of reinsurance protection are impacted by our operating and financial performance as well as conditions beyond our control. In recent years, the number of life reinsurers has decreased as the reinsurance industry has consolidated. The lower number of life reinsurers has resulted in increased concentration of risk for insurers. If the cost of reinsurance were to increase or become unavailable, the Company could be adversely impacted.
We are subject to policy claims experience which can fluctuate from period to period and vary from past results or expectations.
The Company’s earnings are significantly influenced by policy claims received and will vary from period to period depending upon the amount of claims incurred. In any given quarter or year, there is very limited predictability of claims experience. The liability established for future policy benefits is based upon a number of different factors. Our mortality experience could be adversely impacted by a catastrophic event such as a natural disaster, terrorist attack or pandemic event. In the event our future claim experience does not match our past results or pricing assumptions, our operating results could be materially and adversely affected.
We are subject to assumption inaccuracies regarding future mortality, persistency, and interest rates used in determining deferred policy acquisition costs which may require us to accelerate our amortization.
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In the course of business, the Company makes certain assumptions regarding mortality, policy persistency, expenses, interest rates, business mix, investment performance and other factors concerning the type of business experience expected in future periods. Deferred policy acquisition costs (and deferred sales inducement amounts) are calculated using a number of these assumptions. They represent costs that vary with and are primarily related to the acquisition of new insurance and annuity contracts. Amortization of deferred policy acquisition expenses is dependent upon actual and estimated future gross profits ("EGP") generated by the lines of business that incurred the related expenses and are amortized over the expected lives of the corresponding contracts. the principal assumptions for determining EGP are mortality, persistency, expenses, investment returns (including capital gains and losses on assets supporting contract liabilities, and interest crediting rates to contractholders. The deferred policy acquisition costs recorded on the balance sheet are tested to determine if they are recoverable under current assumptions. The estimates and assumptions used to amortize deferred policy acquisition costs proportional to expected gross profits are also regularly reviewed. Due to the uncertainty associated with establishing these assumptions, the Company cannot, with precision, determine the exact pattern of profit emergence. Updates to these assumptions (commonly referred to as "DAC unlocking") could result in an acceleration of amortization of DAC. Accordingly, actual results could differ from the related assumptions which could have a material and adverse impact on the Company’s operating results.
Assumptions and estimates involve judgment, and by their nature are imprecise and subject to changes and revisions over time. The Company's results may be affected, positively or negatively, by actual results differing from assumptions, by changes in estimates, and by changes resulting from implementing more sophisticated administrative systems and procedures that facilitate the calculation of more precise estimates.
Occurrence of natural or man-made disasters and catastrophes could adversely affect our ability to conduct business operations and the financial condition and results of operations.
The occurrence of natural disasters and catastrophes, including earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, fires, explosions, pandemic disease and man-made disasters, including acts of terrorism and military actions, could adversely affect the financial condition or results of operations of the Company. Such disasters and catastrophes could impact the Company directly by damaging our facilities, preventing employees from performing their duties or otherwise disturbing the Company’s ordinary business operations, as well as indirectly by changing the condition and behaviors of consumers, business counterparties and regulators and potentially causing declines or volatility in economic and financial markets. Disasters or a pandemic could disrupt public and private infrastructure, including communications and financial services, which could disrupt the Company's normal business operations. In addition, such events and conditions could result in a decrease or halt in economic activity in large geographic regions, adversely impacting the marketing of the Company's business within such geographic areas which in turn could have an adverse effect on the Company.
The effects of natural and man-made disasters and catastrophes on the Company’s business include, but are not limited to: an acceleration of the timing in which benefits are paid under the Company’s insurance policies due to catastrophic loss of life, unexpected changes in persistency rates as policyholders affected by disaster may be unable to meet their contractual obligations, harm to the financial condition of the Company’s reinsurers due to an increase in claims thereby impacting the cost and availability of reinsurance and possibly increasing the probability of default on reinsurance recoveries, and heightened volatility, loss of liquidity and credit impairment in the financial markets resulting in harm to the Company’s financial condition.
We are dependent upon effective information technology systems and the development and implementation of new technologies.
The Company’s business operations are technology dependent for maintaining accurate records, administering complex contract provisions, and complying with increasingly demanding regulation. While systems developments can streamline many processes and in the long term reduce the cost of doing business, these initiatives can present short-term cost and implementation risks. Projections of expenses, implementation time frames and the ultimate enhancement values may be different from expectations and escalate over time. The Company also faces rising costs and time constraints in meeting data security compliance requirements of new and proposed regulations. These increased risks and expanding requirements expose the Company to potential data loss and damages and significant increases in compliance and litigation costs.
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The Company relies on its computer systems to conduct business and produce financial statements. While policies, procedures and back-up plans designed to prevent or minimize the effect of incapacity or failure are maintained, the Company’s computer systems may be vulnerable to disruptions or breaches as a result of natural disasters, man-made disasters, criminal activity or other events beyond the Company’s control. A computer virus, information security breach, disaster or unanticipated event could affect the data storage and processing systems of the Company, or its service providers, destroying or compromising valuable data or making it difficult to conduct business. The Company's computer systems may be inaccessible to its employees, business partners, and customers for an extended period of time. Even if employees of the Company are able to report to work, they may be unable to perform their duties if the Company's data or systems are disabled or destroyed. The failure or incapacity of any of the Company’s computer systems could potentially disrupt operations, damage our reputation and adversely impact our profitability. Unanticipated problems with our disaster recovery or business continuity plans and systems could have a material adverse impact on our ability to resume and conduct business.
The Company retains confidential information on its systems, including customer information and proprietary business information, and relies on sophisticated commercial technologies and third parties to maintain the security of those systems and information. The increasing volume and sophistication of computer viruses, hackers and other external threats may increase the vulnerability of the Company’s systems to data breaches. Preventive actions taken to reduce the risk of cyber-incidents and protect the Company's information may not be sufficient to prevent cyber-attacks or other security breaches. Anyone who is able to circumvent the Company's security measures could access, view, misappropriate, alter, or delete any information in the systems, including personally identifiable customer information, customer financial information, and proprietary business information. An increasing number of states require customers to be notified of any unauthorized access, use, or disclosure of their information. Any compromise of the security of the Company’s technology systems that results in the disclosure of personally identifiable customer information could damage the Company’s reputation, expose it to litigation, and result in significant technical, legal and other expenses.
The Company's business is dependent on the ability to keep up to date with effective, secure and advanced technology systems to reach a large number of people, provide sizable amounts of information, and secure and store vast quantities of data through our technology systems. Some of the Company’s information technology systems are older legacy-type systems and require an ongoing commitment of resources to maintain current standards. These legacy systems are written in older programming languages with which fewer and fewer individuals are knowledgeable of and trained in. The Company’s success is in large part dependent on maintaining and enhancing the effectiveness of existing legacy systems until converting to newer technologies and failure of these systems for any reason could disrupt our operations, result in the loss of business and adversely impact our profitability.
The Company could be adversely affected by changes to tax law or interpretations of existing tax law which could reduce the demand for certain insurance products.
The Internal Revenue Code (the "IRC") provides that income tax payable on investment earnings of certain life insurance and annuity products is deferred during the accumulation period of the policies/contracts giving certain of the Company's products a competitive advantage over other non-insurance products. In addition, life insurance death benefits are generally exempt from income tax. If the IRC were amended to reduce the tax-deferred status of life insurance and annuity products, all life insurance companies, including the Company, would be adversely affected with respect to the ability to sell these products. Such changes in tax law could make the tax advantages of investing in certain life insurance and annuity products less attractive and adversely affect our financial position and results of operations.
In addition, the Company is subject to federal corporate income taxes but benefits from certain tax provisions, including but not limited to, dividends-received deductions and insurance reserve deductions. Due to a variety of factors including the current Federal budget deficit and ongoing proposals from the U.S. Department of Treasury, from time time to time Congress and various state legislatures entertain revenue-raising proposals contrary to the life insurance industry and there is a risk that federal tax legislation could be enacted lessening or eliminating some or all of the tax advantages currently benefiting the Company and result in higher taxes. Provisions in the IRC currently require that a portion of expenses incurred in selling insurance products be deducted over a period of years rather than immediately deducted in the year such expenses are incurred (generally referred to as a "DAC tax" on insurance companies). The Company cannot predict what other changes to tax laws or interpretations of existing tax law may ultimately be enacted or adopted, or whether such changes will adversely affect the Company.
The Company may be required to establish a valuation allowance against its deferred tax assets which could materially affect the Company's results of operations and financial condition.
23
Differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases give rise to deferred tax assets. These deferred tax assets represent future tax savings that would otherwise be paid in cash. GAAP requires that such deferred tax assets be analyzed for their future realizability which is dependent upon the generation of sufficient future taxable income with which to offset the deferred tax assets. If it is determined that all or a portion of the deferred tax assets cannot be realized, an offsetting valuation allowance must be established with a corresponding charge to net income.
The Company's current assessment of future taxable income in combination with the consideration of available tax planning opportunities has determined that it is more likely than not that it will generate sufficient taxable income to realize its deferred tax assets. This assessment of the realizability of our deferred tax assets requires significant judgment. If future events deviate from the Company's current assessment and cause a failure to achieve our projections, a valuation allowance may need to be established which could have a material adverse effect on the Company's results of operations and financial condition. The Company's year-end net deferred tax assets reflect the current top marginal corporate income tax rate of 35%. Any future reduction in this rate would cause a writedown of our deferred tax assets.
Competition for employees is intense and the Company may not be able to attract and retain highly skilled people needed to support its business.
The Company’s success and ability to reach goals is dependent upon its ability to attract and retain qualified personnel. The market for qualified personnel is extremely competitive and the Company may not be able to hire or retain key people. The unexpected loss of services of one or more of the company’s key personnel could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s operations due to their skills, unique knowledge of our business, years of industry experience and the potential difficulty of quickly finding qualified replacements. The Company has managed to sustain lower than average employee turnover and retained valued employees with decades of experience in the Company's products, business and systems. As these individuals attain retirement age, the Company is exposed to the loss of cumulative knowledge in its operations. The Company's employees, including named executive officers, are not subject to employee contracts. Sales in our lines of business and our results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected if the Company is unsuccessful in attracting and retaining qualified individuals or its recruiting and retention costs increase significantly.
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
The Westcap Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary, owns the Company’s principal office location in Austin, Texas and two buildings adjacent to it, totaling approximately 93,000 square feet that are leased and utilized by the Company. The Company’s affiliate, Regent Care Building, LP, owns a 65,000 square foot building in Reno, Nevada, which is leased and utilized by another of the Company’s affiliates, Regent Care Operations, LP, for use in its nursing home operations. The Company’s subsidiary, Regent Care San Marcos A-3 LP, owns a 74,000 square foot building in San Marcos, Texas, which is also used in nursing home operations. Lease costs and related operating expenses for facilities of the Company’s subsidiaries are currently not significant in relation to the Company’s consolidated financial statements. The intercompany lease costs related to The Westcap Corporation and the nursing homes have been eliminated for consolidated reporting purposes.
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
In the normal course of business, the Company is involved or may become involved in various legal actions in which claims for alleged economic and punitive damages have been or may be asserted, some for substantial amounts. In recent years, carriers offering life insurance and annuity products have faced litigation, including class action lawsuits, alleging improper product design, improper sales practices, and similar claims. The Company has been a defendant over the past several years in such class action lawsuits. Given the uncertainty involved in these types of actions, the ability to make a reliable evaluation of the likelihood of an unfavorable outcome or an estimate of the amount of or range of potential loss is endemic to the particular circumstances and evolving developments of each individual matter on its own merits.
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During 2014, the Company resolved a class action lawsuit pending since June 12, 2006, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. The case was titled In Re National Western Life Insurance Deferred Annuities Litigation. The complaint asserted claims for RICO violations, Financial Elder Abuse, Violation of Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 17200, et seq, Violation of Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 17500, et seq, Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Aiding and Abetting Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Fraudulent Concealment, Cal. Civ. Code 1710, et seq, Breach of the Duty of Good Faith and Fair Dealing, and Unjust Enrichment and Imposition of Constructive Trust. On July 12, 2010 the Court certified a nationwide class of policyholders under the RICO allegation and a California class under all of the remaining causes of action except breach of fiduciary duty. The parties entered into a Settlement and Release Agreement in August of 2013 ("Settlement") which was finally approved by the Court on February 11, 2014. On February 12, 2014, the Court issued a redacted final approval order granting the Motion for Final Approval of Class Action Settlement. The Settlement became final and non-appealable on April 12, 2014. The Settlement Agreement and Plaintiffs' Request for Attorneys' Fees and Costs were approved by the Court, and the Company paid the Court-approved amount of attorneys’ fees and costs in April 2014. The Company also made certain payments to surrendered and annuitized policyholders in June 2014. In addition, the Company agreed to provide bonuses on annuitization for active policyholders who choose a 10-year or a 20-year certain and life settlement option. The Company had held reserves of $6.5 million for the matter at December 31, 2013 which approximated the ultimate settlement amounts described above.
In addition to the class action lawsuit described above, the Company was the named defendant in the case of Sheila Newman vs. National Western Life Insurance Company, which alleged mishandling of policyholder funds by an agent. On February 3, 2010, the 415th Judicial District Court of Parker County in Weatherford, Texas, entered a Final Judgment against the Company of approximately $208,000 including actual damages of $113,000 and amounts for attorney's fees, and prejudgment interest on the actual damages. In addition, the Final Judgment included $150 million for exemplary damages. The Company vigorously defended this case and appealed the Final Judgment to the Court of Appeals Second District of Texas in Fort Worth. The Court of Appeals on August 11, 2011, reversed the trial court judgment in its entirety and rendered a take nothing verdict in favor of National Western. Plaintiffs (Appellees) filed a motion for a rehearing which the Court ruled on October 13, 2011, that the trial court's judgment was still reversed and judgment was still entered that Newman take nothing, all in favor of National Western. The Plaintiffs (Appellees) filed a Motion for Reconsideration En Banc which the Court of Appeals denied on October 27, 2011. The Plaintiffs (Appellees) then filed a Motion for Rehearing of the Court's amended decision, which the Court of Appeals denied on December 22, 2011. On March 21, 2012, Plaintiffs (Appellees) filed a petition for review with the Texas Supreme Court and the Company filed its response on April 20, 2012. The Supreme Court asked the parties for briefs on the issues before deciding on whether to hear the case and both parties submitted their briefs. On February 14, 2013, the Supreme Court denied the Plaintiffs petition for review. On April 3, 2013, Plaintiff filed a Motion for Rehearing. The Supreme Court denied Plaintiff's Motion for Rehearing on June 7, 2013 thus ending the matter.
On October 26, 2011 the Brazilian Superintendence of Private Insurance (“SUSEP”) attempted to serve the Company with a subpoena regarding an administrative proceeding initiated by SUSEP in which it alleged that the Company was operating as an insurance company in Brazil without due authorization. The Company had been informed that SUSEP was attempting to impose a penal fine of approximately $6.0 billion on the Company. SUSEP unsuccessfully attempted to serve the Company with notice regarding this matter. The Company does not transact business in Brazil and has no officers, employees, property, or assets in Brazil. The Company believes that SUSEP has no jurisdiction over the Company, that SUSEP's attempts at service of process were invalid, and that any penal fine would be unenforceable. For the reasons described above, the Company does not believe that this matter meets the definition of a material pending legal proceeding as such term is defined in Item 103 of Regulation S-K but has included the foregoing description solely due to the purported amount of the fine sought at that time.
Although there can be no assurances, at the present time, the Company does not anticipate that the ultimate liability arising from such other potential, pending, or threatened legal actions will have a material adverse effect on the financial condition or operating results of the Company.
Separately, the Company has recently become aware that the Brazilian authorities have commenced an investigation into possible violations of Brazilian criminal law in connection with the issuance of the Company's insurance policies to Brazilian residents, and in assistance of such investigation a Commissioner appointed by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas has issued a subpoena upon the Company to provide information relating to such possible violations. Because the Company has only recently become aware of this investigation, no conclusion can be drawn at this time as to its outcome or how such outcome may impact the Company's business, results of operations or financial condition. The Company plans to cooperate with the relevant governmental authorities in regard to this matter.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
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PART II
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY,
RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER
PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Market Information
The principal market on which the Class A common stock of the Company trades is The NASDAQ - Stock Market® under the symbol “NWLI”. The high and low sales prices for the Class A common stock for each quarter during the last two years and the cash dividends declared per common share are shown in the following table.
Class A Common Stock Data (per share) | 1st Quarter | 2nd Quarter | 3rd Quarter | 4th Quarter | ||||||||
2014: | ||||||||||||
High | $ | 255.49 | 259.99 | 264.36 | 280.02 | |||||||
Low | 204.00 | 227.61 | 229.99 | 229.32 | ||||||||
Dividends Declared | — | — | 0.36 | — | ||||||||
2013: | ||||||||||||
High | $ | 189.20 | 200.21 | 220.05 | 224.90 | |||||||
Low | 157.56 | 170.00 | 191.44 | 197.51 | ||||||||
Dividends Declared | — | — | 0.36 | — | ||||||||
There is no established public trading market for the Company’s Class B common stock.
Equity Security Holders
The number of stockholders of record on March 9, 2015 was as follows:
Class A Common Stock | 3,493 | |
Class B Common Stock | 2 | |
Dividends
Class B common stockholders receive dividends at one-half the rate declared on Class A common stock. During 2014, the Company paid cash dividends on its Class A and Class B common stock in the amounts of $1,237,020 and $36,000, respectively. During 2013, the Company also paid cash dividends on its Class A and Class B common stock in the amounts of $1,236,515 and $36,000, respectively. Payment of dividends is within the discretion of the Company’s Board of Directors but subject to prescribed limitations set by the Colorado Division of Insurance without prior approval. The Company’s general policy is to reinvest earnings internally to finance the development of new business.
Securities Authorized For Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
The Company has two equity compensation plans that were approved by security holders. Under the two plans, a total of 29,768 shares of the Company’s Class A common stock may be issued upon exercise of the outstanding options at December 31, 2014. The weighted average exercise price of the outstanding options is $242.48 per option. Excluding the outstanding options, 291,000 shares of Class A common stock remain available for future issuance under the plans at December 31, 2014.
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Performance Graph
The following graph compares the change in the Company's cumulative total stockholder return on its common stock with the NASDAQ - U.S. Companies Index and the NASDAQ - Insurance Stock Index. The graph assumes that the value of the Company's Class A common stock and each index was $100 at December 31, 2009, and that all dividends were reinvested.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Effective March 10, 2006, the Company adopted and implemented a limited stock buy-back program associated with the Company's 1995 Stock Option and Incentive Plan ("Plan") which provides Option Holders the additional alternative of selling shares acquired through the exercise of options directly back to the Company. Option Holders may elect to sell such acquired shares back to the Company at any time within ninety (90) days after the exercise of options at the prevailing market price as of the date of notice of election. Effective August 22, 2008, the Company adopted and implemented another limited stock buy-back program substantially similar to the 2006 program for shares issued under the 2008 Incentive Plan.
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The following table sets forth the Company’s issuance and repurchase activity of its Class A common shares from option holders for the quarter ended December 31, 2014.
Period | Total Number of Shares Purchased | Average Price Paid Per Share | Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs | Approximate Dollar Value of Shares that May yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs | |||||||
October 1, 2014 through October 31, 2014 | 400 | $ | 263.01 | N/A | N/A | ||||||
November 1, 2014 through November 30, 2014 | — | — | N/A | N/A | |||||||
December 1, 2014 through December 31, 2014 | 1,000 | $ | 269.25 | N/A | N/A | ||||||
Total | 1,400 | $ | 267.47 | N/A | N/A | ||||||
Purchased shares are reported in the Company's consolidated financial statements as authorized and unissued.
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ITEM 6. SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA
The following five-year financial summary includes comparative amounts derived from the audited consolidated financial statements.
Years Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | |||||||||||
(In thousands except per share amounts) | |||||||||||||||
Earnings Information: | |||||||||||||||
Revenues: | |||||||||||||||
Universal life and annuity contract charges | $ | 150,596 | 148,388 | 149,328 | 132,133 | 127,192 | |||||||||
Traditional life and annuity contract premiums | 19,519 | 19,078 | 18,616 | 18,078 | 16,565 | ||||||||||
Net investment income | 505,430 | 660,432 | 460,048 | 391,034 | 401,383 | ||||||||||
Other revenues | 21,630 | 23,716 | 23,470 | 25,439 | 25,377 | ||||||||||
Net realized investment gains (losses) | 11,605 | 8,653 | 13,200 | 6,063 | 5,475 | ||||||||||
Total revenues | 708,780 | 860,267 | 664,662 | 572,747 | 575,992 | ||||||||||
Benefits and expenses: | |||||||||||||||
Life and other policy benefits | 54,295 | 60,050 | 51,842 | 46,494 | 52,929 | ||||||||||
Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs | 115,154 | 108,233 | 121,922 | 133,088 | 96,449 | ||||||||||
Universal life and annuity contract interest | 298,259 | 454,594 | 262,339 | 232,788 | 266,603 | ||||||||||
Other operating expenses | 83,551 | 95,693 | 87,978 | 77,541 | 55,448 | ||||||||||
Total benefits and expenses | 551,259 | 718,570 | 524,081 | 489,911 | 471,429 | ||||||||||
Earnings before Federal income taxes | 157,521 | 141,697 | 140,581 | 82,836 | 104,563 | ||||||||||
Federal income taxes | 51,933 | 45,450 | 48,023 | 27,209 | 31,666 | ||||||||||
Net earnings | $ | 105,588 | 96,247 | 92,558 | 55,627 | 72,897 | |||||||||
Basic Earnings Per Share: | |||||||||||||||
Class A | $ | 29.87 | 27.23 | 26.19 | 15.74 | 20.67 | |||||||||
Class B | $ | 14.93 | 13.61 | 13.09 | 7.87 | 10.33 | |||||||||
Diluted Earnings Per Share: | |||||||||||||||
Class A | $ | 29.85 | 27.19 | 26.19 | 15.73 | 20.61 | |||||||||
Class B | $ | 14.93 | 13.61 | 13.09 | 7.87 | 10.33 | |||||||||
Balance Sheet Information: | |||||||||||||||
Total assets | $ | 11,351,892 | 10,830,416 | 10,263,858 | 9,727,999 | 8,773,948 | |||||||||
Total liabilities | $ | 9,795,572 | 9,382,468 | 8,872,178 | 8,451,214 | 7,555,157 | |||||||||
Stockholders’ equity | $ | 1,556,320 | 1,447,948 | 1,391,680 | 1,276,785 | 1,218,791 | |||||||||
Book value per common share | $ | 428.01 | 398.36 | 382.88 | 351.27 | 335.83 | |||||||||
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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Forward-Looking Statements
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a “safe harbor” for forward-looking statements. Certain information contained herein or in other written or oral statements made by or on behalf of National Western Life Insurance Company or its subsidiaries are or may be viewed as forward-looking. Although the Company has taken appropriate care in developing any such information, forward-looking information involves risks and uncertainties that could significantly impact actual results. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, matters described in the Company’s SEC filings such as exposure to market risks, anticipated cash flows or operating performance, future capital needs, and statutory or regulatory related issues. However, National Western, as a matter of policy, does not make any specific projections as to future earnings, nor does it endorse any projections regarding future performance that may be made by others. Whether or not actual results differ materially from forward-looking statements may depend on numerous foreseeable and unforeseeable events or developments. Also, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments, or otherwise.
Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations (“MD&A”) of National Western Life Insurance Company for the three years ended December 31, 2014 follows. This discussion should be read in conjunction with the Company’s consolidated financial statements and related notes beginning on page 81 of this report.
Overview
The Company provides life insurance products on a global basis for the savings and protection needs of policyholders and annuity contracts for the asset accumulation and retirement needs of contract holders both domestically and internationally. The Company accepts funds from policyholders or contract holders and establishes a liability representing future obligations to pay the policy or contract holders and their beneficiaries. To ensure the Company will be able to pay these future commitments, the funds received as premium payments and deposits are invested in high quality investments, primarily fixed income securities.
Due to the business of accepting funds to pay future obligations in later years and the underlying economics, the relevant factors affecting the Company’s business and profitability include the following:
● | the level of sales and premium revenues collected |
● | persistency of policies and contracts |
● | return on investments sufficient to produce an acceptable spread margin over interest crediting rates |
● | investment credit quality which minimizes the risk of default or impairment |
● | levels of policy benefits and costs to acquire business |
● | the level of operating expenses |
● | effect of interest rate changes on revenues and investments including asset and liability matching |
● | maintaining adequate levels of capital and surplus |
● | actual levels of surrenders, withdrawals, claims and interest spreads and changes in assumptions for amortization of deferred policy acquisition expenses and deferred sales inducements |
● | change in the fair value of derivative index options and embedded derivatives pertaining to fixed-index life and annuity products |
● | pricing and availability of adequate reinsurance |
The Company monitors these factors continually as key business indicators. The discussion that follows in this Item 7 includes these indicators and presents information useful to an overall understanding of the Company’s business performance in 2014, incorporating required disclosures in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC.
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Impact of Recent Business Environment
The Company's business is generally aided by an economic environment experiencing growth, whether moderate or vibrant, characterized by metrics which indicate improving employment data and increases in personal income growth. Conversely, an economy undergoing slow job growth and declining purchasing wherewithal by consumers could adversely impact the demand for the Company's products. The close of the 2014 year generally consisted of positive trends in the U.S. domestic economy. The U.S. stock market posted solid increases which were propelled by upward trending economic growth, consistent accretion in corporate earnings, and the Federal Reserve's accommodative intent to preserve liquidity with low interest rates. The Federal Reserve ceased its quantitative easing program of securities purchases in the fourth quarter pointing to "substantial improvement" in labor market conditions. The unemployment rate fell to 5.6% and the precipitous drop of oil prices by approximately 40% in the fourth quarter created seasonally adjusted inflation rates below zero percent. Observers generally estimate that the drop in oil prices will result in a net positive bump to U.S. GDP as consumers act on the sensation of having additional discretionary funds for purchases. Taken all together, economists generally believe that enough evidence exists to expect the U.S. economy to continue to gain momentum over the next several years.
The fixed income market, our primary investment source, is in the midst of an unprecedented period of low interest rates. Long-term U.S. Treasury rates fell in 2014 such that the Company's current reinvestment yields are lower than the Company's bond portfolio rate of return. Many market observers estimate that interest rates, especially those on the shorter duration end of the spectrum, will commence on an upward path but continue to remain below historic levels during 2015. The current interest rate environment with low yields on the investment-grade securities that the Company purchases exerts downward pressure on the Company's portfolio yield which in turn creates challenges in achieving targeted investment spreads. The Company's interest-sensitive life and annuity policies with guaranteed minimum crediting rates (floors that limit crediting rate reductions) are subject to adverse consequences by a prolonged low interest rate environment as the Company may not have the ability to reduce crediting rates sufficiently to maintain its investment spreads. For the past several years, we have intentionally managed annuity sales to lesser levels than achieved in previous years given the interest rate environment and the Company's desire to avoid adding blocks of business to its in force at historically low interest rate thresholds.
Industry analysts and observers generally agree that a sudden jump in interest rate levels would be harmful to life insurers with interest-sensitive products as it could provide an impetus for abnormal product surrenders and withdrawals at the same time fixed debt securities held by insurers declined in market value. The federal government's burgeoning deficit threatens to eventually push longer term interest rates higher by creating greater borrowing demand and fueling inflationary conditions. It is uncertain what direction and at what pace interest rate movements may occur in the future and what impact, if any, such movements would have on the Company’s business, results of operations, cash flows or financial condition.
Our operating strategy continues to be to maintain capital levels substantially above regulatory and rating agency requirements. Our business model is predicated upon steady growth in invested assets while managing the block of business within profitability objectives. A key premise of our financial management is maintaining a high quality investment portfolio, well matched in terms of duration with the Company's policyholder obligations, that continues to outperform the industry with respect to adverse impairment experience. This discipline enables the Company to sustain resources more than adequate to fund future growth and absorb abnormal periods of cash outflows.
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Critical Accounting Policies
Accounting policies discussed below are those considered critical to an understanding of the Company’s financial statements.
Impairment of Investment Securities. The Company’s accounting policy requires that a decline in the value of a security below its amortized cost basis be evaluated to determine if the decline is other-than-temporary. The primary factors considered in evaluating whether a decline in value for fixed income and equity securities is other-than-temporary include: (a) the length of time and the extent to which the fair value has been less than cost, (b) the reasons for the decline in value (credit event, interest rate related, credit spread widening), (c) the overall financial condition as well as the near-term prospects of the issuer, (d) whether the debtor is current on contractually obligated principal and interest payments, and (e) that the Company does not intend to sell the investment prior to recovery. In addition, certain securitized financial assets with contractual cash flows are evaluated periodically by the Company to update the estimated cash flows over the life of the security. If the Company determines that the fair value of the securitized financial asset is less than its carrying amount and there has been a decrease in the present value of the estimated cash flows since the previous purchase or prior impairment, then an other-than-temporary impairment charge is recognized. The Company would recognize impairment of securities due to changing interest rates or market dislocations only if the Company intended to sell the securities prior to recovery. When a security is deemed to be impaired, a charge is recorded equal to the difference between the fair value and amortized cost basis of the security. In compliance with GAAP guidance the estimated credit versus the non-credit components are bifurcated, and the non-credit component is reclassified as unrealized losses in other comprehensive income. Once an impairment charge has been recorded, the fair value of the impaired investment becomes its new cost basis and the Company continues to review the other-than-temporarily impaired security for appropriate valuation on an ongoing basis. However, the new cost basis of an impaired security is not adjusted for subsequent increases in estimated fair value.
Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs (“DPAC”). The Company is required to defer certain policy acquisition costs and amortize them over future periods. These costs include commissions and certain other expenses that vary with and are directly associated with acquiring new business. The deferred costs are recorded as an asset commonly referred to as deferred policy acquisition costs. The DPAC asset balance is subsequently charged to income over the lives of the underlying contracts in relation to the anticipated emergence of revenue or profits. Actual revenue or profits can vary from Company estimates resulting in increases or decreases in the rate of amortization. The Company performs regular evaluations of its universal life and annuity contracts to determine if actual experience or other evidence suggests that earlier estimates should be revised. Assumptions considered significant include surrender and lapse rates, mortality, expense levels, investment performance, and estimated interest spread. Should actual experience dictate that the Company change its assumptions regarding the emergence of future revenues or profits (commonly referred to as “unlocking”), the Company would record a charge or credit to bring its DPAC balance to the level it would have been if using the new assumptions from the inception date of each policy.
DPAC is also subject to periodic recoverability and loss recognition testing. These tests ensure that the present value of future contract-related cash flows will support the capitalized DPAC balance to be amortized in the future. The present value of these cash flows, less the benefit reserve, is compared with the unamortized DPAC balance and if the DPAC balance is greater, the deficiency is charged to expense as a component of amortization and the asset balance is reduced to the recoverable amount. For more information about accounting for DPAC see Note 1, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
Deferred Sales Inducements. Costs related to sales inducements offered on sales to new customers, principally on investment type contracts and primarily in the form of additional credits to the customer’s account value or enhancements to interest credited for a specified period, which are beyond amounts currently being credited to existing contracts, are deferred and recorded as other assets. All other sales inducements are expensed as incurred and included in interest credited to contract holders’ funds. Deferred sales inducements are amortized to income using the same methodology and assumptions as DPAC, and are included in interest credited to contract holders’ funds. Deferred sales inducements are periodically reviewed for recoverability. For more information about accounting for DPAC see Note 1, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
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Future Policy Benefits. Because of the long-term nature of insurance contracts, the Company is liable for policy benefit payments many years into the future. The liability for future policy benefits represents estimates of the present value of the Company’s expected benefit payments, net of the related present value of future net premium collections. For traditional life insurance contracts, this is determined by standard actuarial procedures, using assumptions as to mortality (life expectancy), morbidity (health expectancy), persistency, and interest rates, which are based on the Company’s experience with similar products. The assumptions used are those considered to be appropriate at the time the policies are issued. An additional provision is made on most products to allow for possible adverse deviation from the assumptions assumed. For universal life and annuity products, the Company’s liability is the amount of the contract’s account balance. Account balances are also subject to minimum liability calculations as a result of minimum guaranteed interest rates in the policies. While management and Company actuaries have used their best judgment in determining the assumptions and in calculating the liability for future policy benefits, there is no assurance that the estimate of the liabilities reflected in the financial statements represents the Company’s ultimate obligation. In addition, significantly different assumptions could result in materially different reported amounts. A discussion of the assumptions used to calculate the liability for future policy benefits is reported in Note 1, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
Revenue Recognition. Premium income for the Company’s traditional life insurance contracts is generally recognized as the premium becomes due from policyholders. For annuity and universal life contracts, the amounts collected from policyholders are considered deposits and are not included in revenue. For these contracts, fee income consists of policy charges for policy administration, cost of insurance charges and surrender charges assessed against policyholders’ account balances which are recognized in the period the services are provided.
Investment activities of the Company are integral to its insurance operations. Since life insurance benefits may not be paid until many years into the future, the accumulation of cash flows from premium receipts are invested with income reported as revenue when earned. Anticipated yields on investments are reflected in premium rates, contract liabilities, and other product contract features. These anticipated yields are implied in the interest required on the Company’s net insurance liabilities (future policy benefits less deferred acquisition costs) and contractual interest obligations in its insurance and annuity products. The Company benefits to the extent actual net investment income exceeds the required interest on net insurance liabilities and manages the rates it credits on its products to maintain the targeted excess or “spread” of investment earnings over interest credited. The Company will continue to be required to provide for future contractual obligations in the event of a decline in investment yield. For more information concerning revenue recognition, investment accounting, and interest sensitivity, please refer to Note 1, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, Note 3, Investments, in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, and the discussions under Investments in Item 7 of this report.
Pension Plans and Other Postretirement Benefits. The Company sponsors a qualified defined benefit pension plan, which was frozen effective December 31, 2007, covering substantially all employees, and three nonqualified defined benefit plans covering certain senior officers. In addition, the Company has postretirement health care benefits for certain senior officers. The freeze of the qualified benefit pension plan ceased future benefit accruals to all participants and closed the Plan to any new participants. In addition, all participants became immediately 100% vested in their accrued benefits as of that date. In accordance with prescribed accounting standards, the Company annually reviews plan assumptions.
The Company annually reviews its pension benefit plans' assumptions which include the discount rate, the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets, and the compensation increase rate. The assumed discount rate is set based on the rates of return on high quality long-term fixed income investments currently available and expected to be available during the period to maturity of the pension benefits. The assumed long-term rate of return on plan assets is generally set at the rate expected to be earned based on the long-term investment policy of the plans, the various classes of the invested funds, input of the plan’s investment advisors and consulting actuary, and the plan’s historic rate of return. The compensation rate increase assumption is generally set at a rate consistent with current and expected long-term compensation and salary policy, including inflation. These assumptions involve uncertainties and judgment, and therefore actual performance may not be reflective of the assumptions.
Other postretirement benefit assumptions include future events affecting retirement age, mortality, dependency status, per capita claims costs by age, health care trend rates, and discount rates. Per capita claims cost by age is the current cost of providing postretirement health care benefits for one year at each age from the youngest age to the oldest age at which plan participants are expected to receive benefits under the plan. Health care trend rates involve assumptions about the annual rate(s) of change in the cost of health care benefits currently provided by the plan, due to factors other than changes in the composition of the plan population by age and dependency status. These rates implicitly consider estimates of health care inflation, changes in utilization, technological advances, and changes in health status of the participants.
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Share-Based Payments. Liability awards under a share-based payment arrangement have been measured based on the awards’ fair value at the reporting date. The Black-Scholes valuation method is used to estimate the fair value of the options. This fair value calculation of the options includes assumptions relative to the following:
● | exercise price |
● | expected term based on contractual term and perceived future behavior relative to exercise |
● | current price |
● | expected volatility |
● | risk-free interest rates |
● | expected dividends |
These assumptions are continually reviewed by the Company and adjustments may be made based upon current facts and circumstances.
Other significant accounting policies, although not involving the same level of measurement uncertainties as those discussed above, but nonetheless important to an understanding of the financial statements, are described in Note 1, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The Company’s consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). In addition, the Company regularly evaluates operating performance using non-GAAP financial measures which exclude or segregate derivative and realized investment gains and losses from operating revenues. Similar measures are commonly used in the insurance industry in order to assess profitability and results from ongoing operations. The Company believes that the presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures enhances the understanding of the Company’s results of operations by highlighting the results from ongoing operations and the underlying profitability factors of the Company’s business. The Company excludes or segregates derivative and realized investment gains and losses because such items are often the result of events which may or may not be at the Company’s discretion and the fluctuating effects of these items could distort trends in the underlying profitability of the Company’s business. Therefore, in the following sections discussing consolidated operations and segment operations, appropriate reconciliations have been included to report information management considers useful in enhancing an understanding of the Company’s operations to reportable GAAP balances reflected in the consolidated financial statements.
Consolidated Operations
Revenues. The following details Company revenues:
Years Ended December 31, | |||||||||
2014 | 2013 | 2012 | |||||||
(In thousands) | |||||||||
Universal life and annuity contract charges | $ | 150,596 | 148,388 | 149,328 | |||||
Traditional life and annuity premiums | 19,519 | 19,078 | 18,616 | ||||||
Net investment income (excluding derivatives) | 436,814 | 434,533 | 432,901 | ||||||
Other revenues | 21,630 | 23,716 | 23,470 | ||||||
Operating revenues | 628,559 | 625,715 | 624,315 | ||||||
Derivative gain (loss) | 68,616 | 225,899 | 27,147 | ||||||
Net realized investment gains (losses) | 11,605 | 8,653 | 13,200 | ||||||
Total revenues | $ | 708,780 | 860,267 | 664,662 | |||||
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Universal life and annuity contract revenues - Revenues for universal life and annuity contract charges increased slightly in 2014 compared to 2013 primarily due to higher surrender charge revenue from terminated policies as shown below. Revenues for universal life and annuity products consist of policy charges for the cost of insurance, administration charges, and surrender charges assessed against policyholder account balances, less reinsurance premiums as depicted in the following table.
Years Ended December 31, | |||||||||
Contract Charges: | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | ||||||
(In thousands) | |||||||||
Cost of insurance and administrative charges | $ | 129,085 | 127,932 | 127,859 | |||||
Surrender charges | 39,051 | 37,038 | 39,156 | ||||||
Other charges | (1,776 | ) | (830 | ) | (757 | ) | |||
Gross contract revenues | 166,360 | 164,140 | 166,258 | ||||||
Reinsurance premiums | (15,764 | ) | (15,752 | ) | (16,930 | ) | |||
Net contract charges | $ | 150,596 | 148,388 | 149,328 | |||||
Cost of insurance charges were $101.7 million in 2014 compared to $99.3 million in 2013 and $95.3 million in 2012. Cost of insurance charges typically trend with the size of the life insurance block in force. The increasing revenue from cost of insurance charges corresponds with the growth in life insurance in force. At December 31, 2014, the volume of life insurance in force increased to $23.1 billion from $22.4 billion as of the end of 2013. Administrative charges were $27.4 million, $28.6 million, and $32.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively, and correlate with new life insurance business sales by the number of policies placed, the amount of premiums received and the volume of insurance issued. These levels in 2014 were down marginally in each instance. During 2013, due to the substantial increase in the Company's single premium life insurance sales, the Company began deferring the premium load associated with this product causing a decrease in administrative charge revenue compared to 2012. This reduction was largely offset by corresponding changes to deferred policy acquisition costs and death benefit reserves. Premium loads deferred during 2014 approximated the deferral level of 2013.
Surrender charges assessed against policyholder account balances upon withdrawal were $39.1 million in 2014 compared to $37.0 million in 2013 and $39.2 million in 2012. While the Company earns surrender charge income that is assessed upon policy terminations, the Company’s overall profitability is enhanced when policies remain in force and additional contract revenues are realized and the Company continues to make an interest rate spread equivalent to the difference it earns on its investment and the amounts that it credits to policyholders. Policy lapse rates by line of business in 2014 were generally consistent with those experienced in 2013 and the overall lapse rate was slightly lower. The higher surrender charge income recognized in 2014 reflects a slight change in the duration of policies at the time of surrender with earlier policy surrenders having a higher surrender charge assessed.
Traditional life and annuity premiums - Traditional life and annuity premiums increased 2% in 2014 compared to 2013. Traditional life insurance premiums for products such as whole life and term life are recognized as revenues over the premium-paying period. The Company’s life insurance sales focus has been primarily centered around universal life products. Universal life products, especially the Company’s equity-index universal life products which offer the opportunity for consumers to acquire life insurance protection and receive credited interest linked in part to an outside market index such as the S&P 500 Index®, have been more popular product offerings in the Company’s markets. However, the global financial crisis generated renewed interest in the Company's term life insurance products particularly with residents outside of the United States leading to modest increases in subsequent periods.
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Net investment income (with and without derivatives) - A detail of net investment income is provided below.
Years Ended December 31, | |||||||||
2014 | 2013 | 2012 | |||||||
(In thousands) | |||||||||
Gross investment income: | |||||||||
Debt securities | $ | 410,809 | 410,790 | 408,204 | |||||
Mortgage loans | 9,847 | 9,256 | 11,879 | ||||||
Policy loans | 4,252 | 4,503 | 5,079 | ||||||
Short-term investments | 401 | 252 | 936 | ||||||
Other invested assets | 12,591 | 10,759 | 7,965 | ||||||
Total investment income | 437,900 | 435,560 | 434,063 | ||||||
Less: investment expenses | 1,086 | 1,027 | 1,162 | ||||||
Net investment income (excluding derivatives) | 436,814 | 434,533 | 432,901 | ||||||
Derivative gain (loss) | 68,616 | 225,899 | 27,147 | ||||||
Net investment income | $ | 505,430 | 660,432 | 460,048 | |||||
Debt securities generated approximately 93.8% of total investment income, excluding derivative gains and losses, in 2014, consistent with prior years. The Company’s strategy is to invest substantially all of its cash flows in fixed debt securities consistent with its guidelines for credit quality, duration, and diversification. In the wake of two record years in annuity sales in 2010 and 2011, and the substantial increases in single premium life insurance sales the past several years, the Company has experienced incremental cash flow for investing in debt securities which has caused the portfolio to grow from $8.8 billion at December 31, 2012 to $9.2 billion at December 31, 2013 and to $9.6 billion billion at December 31, 2014. Despite the growth in the debt security portfolio, lower interest rate levels have persisted in accordance with Federal Reserve monetary policy which has depressed long-term U.S. Treasury rates. When combined with historically tight spreads of corporate securities over U.S. Treasury rate levels, this has resulted in lower yields on new investment purchases. The yield on debt security purchases to fund insurance operations rebounded somewhat to 3.68% in 2014 from 3.53% in 2013 but was still below yields of 4% to 6% attained in 2007 through 2011. Also impacting bond portfolio returns has been the volume of higher yielding debt securities maturing or being called by borrowers with the proceeds being reinvested into lower yielding securities.
The Company’s new mortgage loan activity has been relatively low by historical standards in recent years given the low level of rates and the higher level of risk associated with commercial properties in the current economic environment. Policy loan and other invested asset balances outstanding have remained relatively stable declining modestly over the past few years. The increase in investment income for other invested assets during 2014 and 2013 reflects real estate profits participation loans held in a subsidiary company which received payments of $3.0 million and $2.3 million, respectively, in these periods.
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In order to assess underlying profitability and results from ongoing operations, net investment income performance is analyzed excluding derivative gain (loss), which is a common practice in the insurance industry. Net investment income and average invested assets shown below includes cash and cash equivalents. Net investment income performance is summarized as follows:
Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
2014 | 2013 | 2012 | ||||||||
(In thousands except percentages) | ||||||||||
Excluding derivatives: | ||||||||||
Net investment income | $ | 436,814 | 434,533 | 432,901 | ||||||
Average invested assets, at amortized cost | $ | 9,663,880 | 9,144,120 | 8,677,522 | ||||||
Yield on average invested assets | 4.52 | % | 4.75 | % | 4.99 | % | ||||
Including derivatives: | ||||||||||
Net investment income | $ | 505,430 | 660,432 | 460,048 | ||||||
Average invested assets, at amortized cost | $ | 9,805,680 | 9,257,722 | 8,721,889 | ||||||
Yield on average invested assets | 5.15 | % | 7.13 | % | 5.27 | % | ||||
The decline in average invested asset yield, excluding derivatives, from 2012 to 2013 and to 2014 is due to the Company obtaining lower yields on newly invested cash inflows. As described above, the Company invests substantially all of its net cash flows in debt securities whose new money yields, as noted previously, have decreased during this period to levels below the weighted average portfolio yield. The pattern in average invested asset yield, including derivatives, incorporates increases and decreases in the fair value of index options purchased by the Company to support its fixed-index products. Fair values of the purchased call options have oscillated over the past few years with gains recorded in each of the three years shown corresponding to increases in the S&P 500 Index® during these periods, the primary index the Company's fixed-index products employ. Refer to the derivatives discussion following this section for a more detailed explanation.
Other revenues - Other revenues primarily pertain to the Company’s two nursing home operations in Reno, Nevada and San Marcos, Texas. Revenues associated with these operations were $21.1 million, $23.3 million and $22.8 million in 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively.
Derivative gain (loss) - Index options are derivative financial instruments used to hedge the equity return component of the Company’s fixed-index products. Derivative gain or loss includes the amounts realized from the sale or expiration of the options. Since the index options do not meet the requirements for hedge accounting under GAAP, they are marked to fair value on each reporting date and the resulting unrealized gain or loss is also reflected as a component of net investment income.
Gains and losses from index options are due to changes in equity market conditions. Index options are intended to act as hedges to match the returns on the product’s underlying reference index and the rise or decline in the index relative to the index level at the time of the option purchase which causes option values to likewise rise or decline. As income from index options fluctuates with the underlying index, the contract interest expense to policyholder accounts for the Company’s fixed-index products also fluctuates in a similar manner and direction. During 2012 through 2014, the reference indices increased and the Company recorded each year an overall gain from index options with a corresponding increase in contract interest expense in an amount relative to the gains recorded.
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The table below summarizes the derivative gain (loss) amounts and total contract interest by year.
Years Ended December 31, | |||||||||
2014 | 2013 | 2012 | |||||||
(In thousands) | |||||||||
Derivatives: | |||||||||
Unrealized gain (loss) | $ | (67,547 | ) | 106,514 | 36,639 | ||||
Realized gain (loss) | 136,163 | 119,385 | (9,492 | ) | |||||
Total gain (loss) included in net investment income | $ | 68,616 | 225,899 | 27,147 | |||||
Total contract interest | $ | 298,259 | 454,594 | 262,339 | |||||
The economic impact of option performance in the Company's financial statements is not generally determined solely by the option gain or loss included in net investment income as there is a corresponding amount recorded in the contract interest expense line. Rather, the Company's financial result for these options is dependent upon the purchase cost of the option remaining within the financial budget for purchasing options embedded in the product pricing. Option prices vary with interest rates, volatility, and dividend yields among other things. As option prices vary, the Company manages for the variability by making offsetting adjustments to product caps, participation rates, and management fees. For the periods shown, the Company's option costs have been within the product pricing budgets.
Net realized investment gains (losses) - Realized gains (losses) on investments include impairment write-downs on real estate and investments in debt and equity securities. The net investment gains reported in 2014 consisted of gross gains of $12.3 million, primarily from calls of debt securities, offset by gross losses of $0.7 million, which include other-than-temporary impairment losses described below.
The Company records impairment write-downs when a decline in value is considered to be other-than-temporary and full recovery of the investment is not expected. Impairments due to credit factors are recorded in the Company’s consolidated statement of earnings while non-credit (liquidity) impairment losses are included in other comprehensive income (loss). Impairment and valuation write-downs reflected in the consolidated statements of earnings are summarized in the following table.
Years Ended December 31, | |||||||||
2014 | 2013 | 2012 | |||||||
(In thousands) | |||||||||
Impairment or valuation write-downs: | |||||||||
Debt securities | $ | 7 | 242 | 1,243 | |||||
Equities | 143 | 63 | 97 | ||||||
Mortgage loans | — | — | 637 | ||||||
Real estate | — | — | 214 | ||||||
Total | $ | 150 | 305 | 2,191 | |||||
Debt security impairments in 2014, 2013 and 2012 primarily pertain to write-downs on asset-backed securities whose cash flows and fair values did not support the amortized cost basis at which the instruments were recorded in the financial statements.
Equity impairments (common stocks) represent a mark-to-market write-down on securities in which the market discount to book value was significant and had been maintained for several reporting periods. Equity securities represent 0.1% of invested assets and individual holdings have an average cost basis of approximately $43,000.
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The mortgage loan valuation write-down in 2012 of $650,000 represents a general valuation allowance established for the Company's mortgage loan portfolio based upon the Company's loss experience over the past ten years. It is not identified with a specific underlying asset.
Benefits and Expenses. The following details benefits and expenses.
Years Ended December 31, | |||||||||
2014 | 2013 | 2012 | |||||||
(In thousands) | |||||||||
Life and other policy benefits | $ | 54,295 | 60,050 | 51,842 | |||||
Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs | 115,154 | 108,233 | 121,922 | ||||||
Universal life and annuity contract interest | 298,259 | 454,594 | 262,339 | ||||||
Other operating expenses | 83,551 | 95,693 | 87,978 | ||||||
Totals | $ | 551,259 | 718,570 | 524,081 | |||||
Life and other policy benefits - Life and other policy benefits include death claims of $31.7 million, $36.9 million and $31.8 million for 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively. While death claim amounts are subject to variation from period to period, the Company’s mortality experience has generally been consistent with or better than its product pricing assumptions. Although not utilized previously, the Company initiated a project during 2012 to identify unreported death claims by researching the Social Security Administration master data base for deceased individuals matching with insureds under in force policies of the Company. The Company identified death claims of $2.5 million in 2012 through this initiative for deaths incurred over the past decade and prior in some cases. Going forward, new state regulations require the Company to continue this program as frequently as quarterly in order to identify unreported death claims.
During 2013, annuity policy benefit obligations were increased $4.0 million pertaining to the market value adjustment feature on annuity contract surrenders and partial withdrawals transacted over a number of years. The amount of the market value adjustment for any single reporting period was not material given the length of time over which the transactions occurred. These incremental obligations were paid out during 2014.
Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs - Life insurance companies are required to defer certain expenses that vary with, and are primarily related to, the cost of acquiring new business. The majority of these acquisition expenses consist of commissions paid to agents, underwriting costs, and certain marketing expenses. Recognition of these deferred policy acquisition costs (“DPAC”) as an expense in the consolidated financial statements occurs over future periods in relation to the expected emergence of profits priced into the products sold. This emergence of profits is based upon assumptions regarding premium payment patterns, mortality, persistency, investment performance, and expense patterns. Companies are required to review universal life and annuity contract assumptions periodically to ascertain whether actual experience has deviated significantly from that assumed. If it is determined that a significant deviation has occurred, the emergence of profit patterns is to be "unlocked" and reset based upon the actual experience. DPAC balances are also adjusted each period to reflect current policy lapse or termination rates, expense levels and credited rates on policies as compared to anticipated experience (“true-up”) with the adjustment reflected in current period amortization expense. In accordance with GAAP guidance the Company must also write off deferred acquisition costs and unearned revenue liabilities upon internal replacement of certain contracts as well as annuitizations of deferred annuities.
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The following table identifies the effects of unlocking and true-up adjustments on DPAC balances recorded through amortization expense for 2014, 2013 and 2012.
Years Ended December 31, | |||||||||
Increase (Decrease) in DPAC Balance | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | ||||||
(In thousands) | |||||||||
Unlocking | $ | 1,430 | — | — | |||||
True-up | 7,181 | 15,842 | 12,820 | ||||||
Totals | $ | 8,611 | 15,842 | 12,820 | |||||
During the third quarter of 2014, the Company unlocked the DPAC balance associated with its International Life segment for premium load increases implemented on several international universal life products. The effect of the prospective unlocking was to increase DPAC balances by $1.4 million (and decrease amortization expense). No unlocking adjustments were made by the Company in 2013 or 2012.
True-up adjustments are recorded quarterly and the adjustments in 2014, 2013 and 2012 relate to changes in expense ratios, partial surrender rates, mortality rates, credited interest rates and earned rates for the current year’s experience. The true-up adjustments for the life insurance lines of business were positive (decrease to amortization expenses) during these periods, whereas the true-up adjustments for the annuity line of business were negative in these same periods incrementally adding to amortization expense. During 2014, the Company identified certain renewal trail commission arrangements not meeting the criteria for deferral that incrementally added to the negative true-up adjustment for the annuity line of business. The true-up adjustments by line of business are as shown in the following table.
Years Ended December 31, | |||||||||
True-up Adjustments | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | ||||||
(In thousands) | |||||||||
Annuities | $ | (10,860 | ) | (3,553 | ) | (5,886 | ) | ||
International life | 9,140 | 11,306 | 12,696 | ||||||
Domestic life | 8,901 | 8,089 | 6,010 | ||||||
Totals | $ | 7,181 | 15,842 | 12,820 | |||||
Universal life and annuity contract interest - The Company closely monitors credited interest rates on interest sensitive policies, taking into consideration such factors as profitability goals, policyholder benefits, product marketability, and economic market conditions. As long-term interest rates change, the Company's credited interest rates are often adjusted accordingly, taking into consideration the factors described above. The difference between yields earned on investments over policy credited rates is often referred to as the "interest spread".
The Company's approximated average credited rates, excluding and including equity-indexed products, were as follows:
December 31, | December 31, | ||||||||||||||||
2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | ||||||||||||
(Excluding fixed-index products) | (Including fixed-index products) | ||||||||||||||||
Annuity | 2.52 | % | 2.63 | % | 2.88 | % | 2.86 | % | 4.73 | % | 2.87 | % | |||||
Interest sensitive life | 3.77 | % | 3.88 | % | 4.06 | % | 5.54 | % | 8.40 | % | 5.48 | % | |||||
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Contract interest including fixed-index products also encompasses the performance of the index options associated with the Company's fixed-index products. As previously noted, the market performance of these derivative features resulted in net realized and unrealized gains in 2014, 2013 and 2012 of $68.6 million, $225.9 million and $27.1 million, respectively.
Similar to deferred policy acquisition costs the Company defers sales inducements in the form of first year interest bonuses on annuity products that are directly related to the production of new business. These charges are deferred and amortized using the same methodology and assumptions used to amortize other capitalized acquisition costs and the amortization is included in contract interest. In addition, deferred sales inducement balances are also reviewed periodically to ascertain whether actual experience has deviated significantly from that assumed (unlock) and are adjusted to reflect current policy lapse or termination rates, expense levels and credited rates on policies compared to anticipated experience (true-up). These adjustments, plus or minus, are included in contract interest expense. In the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013, and 2012 the Company recorded true-ups adjustments of its deferred sales inducement balances resulting in additional contract interest expense of $1.6 million, $0.8 million and $5.5 million, respectively.
Other operating expenses - Other operating expenses consist of general administrative expenses, licenses and fees, commissions not subject to deferral, nursing home expenses and compensation costs. These are summarized in the table that follows.
Years Ended December 31, | |||||||||
2014 | 2013 | 2012 | |||||||
(In thousands) | |||||||||
General insurance expense | $ | 18,420 | 29,916 | 24,028 | |||||
Nursing home expenses | 19,541 | 21,230 | 21,620 | ||||||
Compensation expense | 28,207 | 28,202 | 23,120 | ||||||
Commission expense | 11,090 | 9,478 | 11,607 | ||||||
Taxes, licenses and fees | 6,293 | 6,867 | 7,603 | ||||||
Totals | $ | 83,551 | 95,693 | 87,978 | |||||
General insurance expenses include amounts provided for various legal matters and outstanding litigation. As more fully described in Item 3. Legal Proceedings of this report, the Company entered into a settlement agreement pertaining to a class action lawsuit which was approved by the U.S. District Court in February 2014. Included in general insurance expense for 2013 is an accrual of $6.5 million related to this settlement which approximated the ultimate amounts paid out during 2014. With the resolution of this matter and a lack of other significant litigation, the Company's legal expenses, excluding the class action lawsuit accrual, declined approximately $1.6 million from the amount in 2013.
General insurance expense includes amortization expense associated with capitalized system costs. The Company has been involved in major information system initiatives to enhance actuarial, accounting, policy acquisition, and policy administration processes. Costs related to these systems are capitalized during the development process and then amortized once they are placed into service and used in operations. Amortization expense in association with these system implementations was $1.4 million, $2.5 million, and $3.5 million in 2014, 2013, and 2012, respectively. During 2013, some components became fully amortized and one component was written off, increasing other operating expense by $1.0 million.
Nursing home expenses include the Company's two facilities in Reno, Nevada and San Marcos, Texas. These two entities have operationally functioned at consistent levels of residents over the past several years. Certain higher acuity resident services were discontinued at the Reno facility resulting in lower expenses.
Compensation expense includes share based compensation costs related to outstanding vested and unvested stock options and stock appreciation rights (SARs) under the Company's long-term equity incentive compensation plans. As these costs vary in tandem with the Company's Class A common share price as a result of marking the stock options and SARs to fair value under the liability method of accounting, the related expense amount varies positive or negative in any given period. For the three years shown, share based compensation expense totaled $4.4 million in 2014, $5.7 million in 2013 and $1.1 million in 2012. The expense increases in 2013 and 2014 reflect an escalation in the Company's Class A common share price from $157.74 at December 31, 2012 to $223.55 at December 31, 2013 and to $269.25 at December 31, 2014.
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At year-end 2012, the Company was informed by the California Life and Health Guaranty Fund Association that it would be assessing the Company approximately $1.8 million for its pro rata share as part of the finalization of the Executive Life Insurance Company insolvency of twenty years ago. The entire amount was accrued at December 31, 2012 and included in taxes, licenses and fees expense. The assessment was paid in the first half of 2013.
Segment Operations
Summary of Segment Earnings
A summary of segment earnings from continuing operations for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012 is provided below. The segment earnings exclude realized gains and losses on investments, net of taxes.
Domestic Life Insurance | International Life Insurance | Annuities | All Others | Totals | |||||||||||
(In thousands) | |||||||||||||||
Segment earnings (loss): | |||||||||||||||
2014 | $ | 2,812 | 37,092 | 42,935 | 15,204 | 98,043 | |||||||||
2013 | 2,094 | 35,718 | 37,725 | 15,085 | 90,622 | ||||||||||
2012 | 1,255 | 35,556 | 33,206 | 13,961 | 83,978 | ||||||||||
Domestic Life Insurance Operations
A comparative analysis of results of operations for the Company's domestic life insurance segment is detailed below.
Years Ended December 31, | |||||||||
2014 | 2013 | 2012 | |||||||
(In thousands) | |||||||||
Premiums and other revenue: | |||||||||
Premiums and contract charges | $ | 28,801 | 29,567 | 31,143 | |||||
Net investment income | 34,695 | 33,818 | 21,194 | ||||||
Other revenues | 55 | 29 | 62 | ||||||
Total premiums and other revenue | 63,551 | 63,414 | 52,399 | ||||||
Benefits and expenses: | |||||||||
Life and other policy benefits | 11,856 | 11,660 | 10,633 | ||||||
Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs | 6,913 | 6,738 | 7,461 | ||||||
Universal life insurance contract interest | 27,050 | 26,427 | 17,507 | ||||||
Other operating expenses | 13,547 | 15,515 | 14,895 | ||||||
Total benefits and expenses | 59,366 | 60,340 | 50,496 | ||||||
Segment earnings (loss) before Federal income taxes | 4,185 | 3,074 | 1,903 | ||||||
Federal income taxes (benefit) | 1,373 | 980 | 648 | ||||||
Segment earnings (loss) | $ | 2,812 | 2,094 | 1,255 | |||||
42
Revenues from domestic life insurance operations include life insurance premiums on traditional type products and contract revenues from universal life insurance. Revenues from traditional products are simply premiums collected, while revenues from universal life insurance consist of policy charges for the cost of insurance, policy administration fees, and surrender charges assessed during the period. A comparative detail of premiums and contract revenues is provided below.
Years Ended December 31, | |||||||||
2014 | 2013 | 2012 | |||||||
(In thousands) | |||||||||
Universal life insurance revenues | $ | 28,505 | 31,192 | 32,655 | |||||
Traditional life insurance premiums | 6,687 | 4,386 | 4,640 | ||||||
Reinsurance premiums | (6,391 | ) | (6,011 | ) | (6,152 | ) | |||
Totals | $ | 28,801 | 29,567 | 31,143 | |||||
The Company’s domestic life insurance in force policy count has been declining several years resulting in lower universal life contract revenue charges. The pace of new policies issued has lagged the number of policies terminating from death or surrender over the three years shown causing a declining level of insurance in force from which contract revenue is received. This ratio improved somewhat during 2012 to a three-to-one relationship and in 2013 and 2014 to a two-to-one ratio. Nonetheless, the number of domestic life insurance policies has declined from 60,000 at December 31, 2012 to 57,700 at December 31, 2013 and to 55,700 at December 31, 2014. Policy lapse rates in 2014 improved to 6.2% from 6.7% and 6.5% in 2013 and 2012, respectively.
Universal life insurance revenues are also generated with the issuance of new business based upon amounts per application and percentages of the face amount (volume) of insurance issued. The number of domestic policies issued during 2014 was 11% lower than in 2013 and the volume of insurance issued was 10% less than that in 2013. As noted in the discussion of Consolidated Operations results, in 2013 the Company began deferring the premium load on its most popular domestic product, single pay life insurance. This served to contain the level of universal life insurance revenues in comparison to prior year levels.
Premiums collected on universal life products are not reflected as revenues in the Company's consolidated statements of earnings in accordance with GAAP. Actual domestic universal life premiums are detailed below.
Years Ended December 31, | |||||||||
2014 | 2013 | 2012 | |||||||
(In thousands) | |||||||||
Universal life insurance: | |||||||||
First year and single premiums | $ | 115,928 | 129,518 | ||||||